


A Rose in Winter

by Kaponos



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/F, Forever, No beta: we die like men, Princess/Knight Relationship, Writer's Block, fluff but also plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-26 17:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 75,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20393677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaponos/pseuds/Kaponos
Summary: The Kingdom of Luna is dying.A devastating and unnatural winter stretches on without end; animals and plant-life begin to die in their slumber, stores of food run low, and the chill only ever seems to grow deeper each passing day.In the midst of this crisis, a young squire finds herself the only thing between a hooded girl and a vile monster.(A port of A Rose in Winter from ff.net)





	1. Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, welcome to this mess.  
This almost entirely stems from the art of [Fullertoons](https://fullertoons.tumblr.com/post/164486354545/akko-is-a-goofy-chipper-knight-in-training) on tumblr. (check it out) It's also kind of writing practice for my original works, connecting islands of plot ideas into functional and readable chapters, that sort of thing.  
Also maybe beware of extreme lengths of no update because writer's block owns my soul.

** _A Rose in Winter_ **

**-oOo-**

Crows screeched from the bare branches of slumbering trees as a young squire stomped through shin deep snow, grunting with each step. The bottom layers of snow had turned icy overnight, creating a solid foundation for more flakes to build. If the white powder had not frozen as it had, travelers would find the path insurmountable; every step sinking them further towards their icy tomb.

Lady Chariot had sent the squire out on errand duty, not wishing to leave the comfort of a fire for all but a siege. _'But if I can do what m'lady will not, surely it shall be a sign of my mettle as a knight!'_ Lady Chariot trusted the knight-to-be in retrieving what she asked independently of supervision; a test it seemed. This winter was harsher than any in recent memory: Cold, violent, a bitter wind sending hunks of ice flying at high speeds. All but few animals in the region had fled in fear or dug themselves deep underground, making hunting for meat unviable until they returned.

Squire Kagari would not be so easily beaten however, despite the chill seeping through her gambeson, and winds scratching at her bare ears angrily, she would march forward. She could see it now: Knight Kagari, the greatest of heroes. Evil would tremble in fear at her name, the innocent would sleep soundly knowing they were protected.

Before all of that could happen however, Akko needed to deliver this sword to the castle blacksmith. A fine blade, used well by the good knightess; well balanced, slender. Alas all edges, no matter how brilliant, do not one day fade, this sword was no different.

The furious howling of the winds gently began to die down, snowflakes returning to their straight downward falls, the forest once again quiet. Atsuko breathed a sigh of relief, lifting her face up from the package to get a look at where she was.

Though the forest looked identical to when she last looked, the telltale spires of Castle Manbaveran loomed ahead in the distance, surrounded by the sprawling Castle Town below. _'I didn't get lost!'_ The brunette squire jumped happily in the air, spirit and confidence renewed.

She was about to break out into a sprint towards the town walls, when a loud high pitched noise rang out; a murder of crows scattering from a clearing in the distance. Akko listened carefully for any sounds in the silent forest, frozen ears still usable.

A thud of something against wood.

The sound of a whip?

Trees creaking in the breeze.

Crunching of footsteps.

A man's scream of pain.

Something landing hard in the snow.

Akko bolted from the path towards the sounds of battle, adrenaline pumping through her veins, filling her cold skin with fire. As she got closer and closer, a deafening screech tore through her frostbitten eardrums.

_'Mandrake!'_

Sure enough, the squire arrived just in time to witness a large, writhing plant beast toss a man through the air. Two other men were already out of commission, nasty tears through their gambesons; blood soaking through. The beast was also rather worse for wear: a few of it's vine like limbs sliced clean off, an entire petal missing from it's head.

A young lady was the only one left standing, only a thick fur cloak protecting her flesh from the monster, and completely unarmed.

Without even thinking, Akko leaped out of the treeline, sliding to a stop in front of the girl; the still sheathed blade pointed threateningly. She swung the sword once, flinging the sheath from its blade, where it ended up hitting the monster in the face.

Though a pitiful blow, the beast was dazed, either from confusion or sheer offense at what had transpired.

The hooded girl took no time in seizing the opportunity, grabbing Akko's hand and dragging her away quickly from the beast into the woods.

"But those men!" Akko cried, nearly stumbling on a root as she was lead through the forest. "Thy heart is pure yet thy mind lax in judgement! We shalt return once the beast is laid low!" The girl spoke the way of nobles, difficult for Akko to piece apart in the commotion. The bit she did get however, concerned her.

"You want me to kill it?! How am I going to do that?!"

Zig-zagging their path as to slow down and confuse the rabid monster, the two stopped behind a large pine, breathing heavily from exertion. "Thou hast a blade; thou art a knight, art thee not?"

Akko was silent for a second or two.

"Kind of."

The- very beautiful now that Akko had a look -woman searched Akko's eyes for deception. When the search brought up nothing, she turned away a few degrees, sighing.

"You at least know how to swing a sword properly, don't you?"

Her sudden abandonment of noble speak was jarring to say the least, but the squire could understand her now. Akko nodded, showing a few slightly off balance swings, much to the displeasure of her audience.

"You'll have to do."

A vile tasting substance was suddenly shoved into Atsuko's mouth; unprepared for the intrusion, Akko had no choice but to swallow it. She coughed, gagging at the aftertaste. "Acghk! Wh-Why did you do that?" Burnt wood and sewage ravaged her tastebuds while a new feeling crept down the squire's spine. Heat, adrenaline, the feeling of electric sparks flowing up and down her vertebrae.

"You're hopeless without my help. So I'm helping you. Give me your sword." The brunette reluctantly handed over the dull blade, attempting to air out her tongue in the meantime.

The pink haired girl took another vial from within her cloak, smearing a different, more viscous slime, all over the edge. "Hey! Promise me that won't ruin it! That needs to be brought back to Lady Chariot in perfect condition."

A black and purple fizz began building up on the edge of the dull sword, sizzling violently. "It burns off, don't worry about it. Only don't.. you know, touch the fizzing bit. Or your skin will melt off. Really quickly."

Sounds of thrashing vines and creaking wood approached their location quickly, the furious mandrake out for blood. "Stand fast squire! Swing true!" With a wave the hooded girl vanished into the woods, leaving Akko to face the beast alone. Getting over the shock of abandonment quickly, the brunette shifted her stance, raising the blade defensively. _'Just like Lady Chariot. You've watched her fight for years. Just like her.'_

Crashing through the trees, the mandrake's eyes focused in on their target. It slid on the ice, screeching to a halt, vines clustering around it's vulnerable bud to protect it. After a moment of still silence, the beast took a step, testing it's limits with the new adversary.

Akko tilted the blade diagonally downward; a defensive stance that can quickly changed to a horizontal slice. _'Wait for them to get impatient._' The voice of Chariot echoed in her head, memories of instruction filling her with confidence.

As expected, the mandrake took another step. Akko could see one of the vines curling up like a string, awaiting command to strike.

_'Wait for it...'_

The tendril shot out towards her, aiming directly for her throat. With a flick of the wrist, defense became offense, and the blade was sent swinging horizontally, cutting messily through the thin vine. Akko stumbled slightly on the ice; the momentum of her swing, more forceful than usual, shifting her balance.

Regaining stability, the squires eyes were drawn to the reeling mandrake's sliced tendril: black and fizzling at the end, purple veins of venom creeping upward towards the petals. The beast shrieked in pain, thrashing another whip wildly; it went wide, scraping Akko across the neck. Not a deep cut, but the open wound stung in the chilly air.

Whatever that girl had smeared across the sword's edge seemed incredibly painful, the mandrake's screeches shaking snow from nearby trees. Seizing the opening, Akko sliced upward at one of the mandrake's mobility vines, depositing more burning filth deep within the wound.

It roared, whipping Akko across the shins, sending her sprawling into the snow. Shifting the damaged vines to the back of it's body, the beast crawled forward towards the squire, its two remaining non mobility vines curled for attack. A bolt of electricity within her spine caused Akko to roll, narrowly dodging the vines as they dug into the ice where she once was.

Once on her stomach, the squire pushed herself up to standing, grabbing the sword and swinging wildly at the monster's side. One particularly violent cut dug into a petal, lodging within the flesh of the beast's flower like face.

Utterly furious and deeply injured, the mandrake swung with it's mobility vines, slicing into Atsuko's thigh and gambeson. She tumbled to the ground yet again, clutching at her leg.

Wounded and in pain, Akko looked up at death's face, smirking at the ugly black scar deep within one of the petals. "I hope that poison kills you slowly!" She shouted, a hint of mania creeping into her voice. _'I die saving a young lady from evil. There is no departure greater for a knight.'_

Before she could give in entirely, a familiar voice echoed from above her.

"Sorry to disappoint, but it will be quick."

And then screaming.

Opening her eyes Akko witnessed something wonderful. Black sizzling poison covering the Mandrake's bulb entirely, burning away it's life by the second. Up in the branches of a tree, the girl in the cloak sat relaxed, an empty flask between her fingers and a wide shark toothed grin on her face.

The mandrake had finally stopped screaming, assuredly dead. It's blackened corpse continued to burn as the poison tore through layer after layer.

"You are by far the worst knight I've ever met."

Akko looked back to the girl who had jumped down into the snow and was now standing over her. She turned her face away, offering a hand.

"Though far from the worst squire."

Akko took the offered hand, coming up to standing, where she stumbled due to her injured leg. The hooded woman grabbed hold under each elbow, steadying her; their faces were very close when both sets of eyes came up to lock. The woman looked away, a slight brush of pink on her face, though that could have been from the sheer cold of the forest.

"**PRINCESS!**" Shouting echoed from the forest behind them, no doubt the knights had recovered and come running.

"Princess?" Akko paled, eyes bulging.

"Here gentlemen! Thine enemy hast been smote, well and truly!" The hooded girl- the **princess** -called out into the forest, waving a hand above her head.

"Princess?" Akko repeated, only now seeing the silver tiara hidden under the cloak's hood.

A very burly man, who Akko recognized as the one who had been thrown earlier, ran up to them; the two others supporting each other as they limped. His hair was a deep orange, cut short and kept well; a thick beard of similar colour adorned his chin, keeping him warm in such freezing temperatures.

"Your highness, thank the gods." he collapsed over his knees, breathing heavily from running so fast after being thrown.

"Worry not, Sir Yanson. With my assistance, this travelling knight hath slain the beast." The princess gestured to the smoking corpse of the mandrake, a serene smile across her lips.

Knight Yanson looked between the smoldering heap that used to be a monster and Akko, his expression of disbelief shared by both of the other knights. She could only wave dumbly.

He laughed then, joyfully, stumbling over to Akko he took her hand with both of his and shook madly. "Well thank you very much! You protected her highness when we could not." The squire laughed nervously, looking over to the princess for help. She did not see however, busy handing a few little white mushrooms to the injured soldiers while looking over their wounds.

"What's your name hero? I would like to relay your feat to the Captain m'self."

"H-h-hero?" Akko stuttered, mind in complete meltdown.

"Well of course!" The knight cried, nodding. "You have saved the heir to the Manbaveran throne from an untimely fate! I call that heroic!"

She felt lightheaded. Sucy Manbaveran, next in line to be queen. Spoke to her, touched her. She saved a princess from a monster.

_'All my dreams coming true at once...'_

"N-Noo" She tried. "You guys weakened it for me. I can't take full credit."

"Quite" Princess Sucy walked up beside her, popping a mushroom in her mouth before she could speak.

"Thoust fought bravely Sir Yanson, be not so humble. Thou art all heroes in the eyes of The Crown."

Bending down in the snow, the princess took a careful look at the gash in Atsuko's thigh. Gently touching the skin around the cut, she peered into the wound for any alien objects. "Assist this one, Sir Yanson. Her leg requires supplies that I possess not."

As instructed, Sir Yanson offered his back to hop onto, which the squire accepted gladly, the adrenaline was wearing off, and standing on her injured leg was becoming unbearable.

Yanking the toxic sword from the ruin of the mandrake, Princess Sucy raised it skyward.

"Away gentlemen!"

**-oOo-**

Within thirty minutes, the small injured party had arrived at the town gates; guards frantically rushing to aid them. "Princess! By what devilry dost thou return so defeated?!"

"A mandrake beset upon my party. With assistance from this traveler, the foul creature was slain." Akko was too exhausted to be humble or nervous, simply raising a hand at the reference to herself.

"Inform my father and the Captain of our return. The injured shalt be tended to personally. Fetch two handmaidens hastily." Waltzing through the gate, the princess stopped mid step, shouting behind her. "And summon the royal smith to me!"

Akko was in awe. The calm princess' normally dull red eyes burnt with a harsh fire as she barked orders; imagining her as queen one day was easy.

Soon they were inside, warmth finally flowing back into Atsuko's frozen body, beginning the slow process of thawing. She was set down on a table, lying across its surface; muscles finally giving out from absolute overuse. The two handmaidens called for rushed into the room, bowing to the princess.

"M'lady, we came as fast as we could!" Princess Sucy smiled warmly, quietly informing them on the various injuries of the group. She felt a pair of small yet rough hands pulling away her torn gambeson, the vine had cut through nearly completely, only sheer human ingenuity saving her from death; though the cut was still deep enough to scar. Her leg however had not been so lucky: the vine whip had sliced deep, fracturing bones with it's force. Akko was sure a few of her ribs were cracked as well, she could feel a slight shift to her rib-cage as she breathed.

"Thou fought bravely." The princess' soft voice sounded nearby, Atsuko creaked open an eye to see her standing next to the table, gentle hands against the skin of her neck, cleaning the wound with warm water. She leaned in, dropping her voice to a whisper as to not besmirch her noble persona. "Even if you sucked."

"Oi!" Atsuko whisper-yelled, careful to not let any of her loyal servants hear her. "I took vine whips for you!" The princess stopped, looking over Akko's bruised and sliced body, mischievous smile melting into a guilty frown.

"You-Thou... art correct.. Apologies."

Stepping back slightly from the table, Sucy reached for the rolling cart of medical supplies, pulling out a vial of a very pink substance. "Still thyself." She commanded, dipping a thin wooden implement into the contents.

Akko could feel a sudden cold patch on her neck as the princess carefully spread the goo across her open wound. There was a slight sting, though it lasted for a moment only. Holding out her palms to hover over the gash, a soft pink light began emanating from the solution. Akko's eyes widened as she felt flesh and sinew weave itself back together within seconds.

"Still thyself knave!" Sucy raised her voice when Akko shifted, attempting to look at her own neck fruitlessly. "If thou wishes to injure thyself further, do so after thy departure!"

Next, the princess removed the tatters of Akko's tunic. Soft hands gently touching different areas of her torso. Akko felt her face heat up; a gorgeous princess feeling her up was too much to bear.

Sucy leaned close, soft voice puffing air against Akko's nose. "I can only move them back to where they're supposed to be, healing them completely will take some time." Resting her two hands just below the squire's bind, the princess's hands began to glow that soft pink once more.

"Breathe deeply. No harm will come to thee." Atsuko did as instructed, expanding her lungs as far as possible, feeling her loose rib bones shift with her breath. Not a single one pierced her flesh.

For around ten minutes, the princess tended to her wounds quietly, instructing her when required, otherwise keeping silent. Feeling such gentle, delicate, fingers mend her body drew the squire into a haze, embarrassment forgotten as she simply enjoyed the attention.

"Thou may rise, Knight." Princess Sucy's voice jolted Atsuko from her daydreams. Her ribs had been wrapped tightly, holding them in place as they healed. The slice through her thigh had been closed, though a wooden support had been bound tightly to her, keeping it straight lest the bone deform.

"Thank you, Your Highness. Your abilities are legend."

Sucy looked away bashfully- '_She does that a lot?_' -fiddling with her fingers. "Thou art a hero;" She stated, a small amount of pink staining her cheeks; definitely not from the cold this time. "Thy wounds received for my sake. Without the tiniest scruple of whom thou laid thy life down for, thou leaped to the call. I wish to repay my debt."

The brunette's face burned at the praise; everything the princess was true: she was ready to fight and die. Without even thinking, not knowing or caring who was in trouble. _'If Lady Chariot could see me now.'_

"I am humbled Your Highness." She mumbled, attempting to flush the red from her cheeks.

Sucy stepped closer, speaking quietly with her head down, lovely pink hair shielding her face. Her voice was sorrowful, the guilt dripping from her tongue. "What's your name? I never even asked."

Akko smiled, picking up the princess' hand, attempting to lighten her mood.

"Atsuko Kagari, Your Highness. Though I prefer Akko."

A chivalrous kiss was placed on her knuckles, the brunette's head hung low in respect; borrowing a line from Knight Chariot in desperation to impress the young royal.

"I am the shield of the innocent. There is no debt to repay."


	2. Healer

**-oOo-**

Squire Kagari was on cloud nine; a monster slain and a princess saved, any knight's greatest dream. Said princess had run off to assist other injured, Akko still remembered her face after the squire's show of chivalry; bright red cheeks, an irritated twitch to her eye, utterly baffled. Princess Sucy hadn't said anything afterword, simply scampering away, leaving the squire alone with foggy thoughts.

A few minutes- or a few seconds, Atsuko couldn't tell- after, a knock on the door caught the attention of the princess. "Enter!" She called, soft, sad tone seemingly forgotten.

A tall, slim built man walked into the room, a woolen hat in his hands. "Your Highness." He bowed low to the princess, Frank accent surrounding his respectful tone. "I dropped everything to rush to your call. Your wish is my command."

Sucy glided over to the the corner of the room, where all of the knights' gear had been dropped. She shuffled through the rags of gambeson, searching for something. Akko watched with a touch of confusion as the royal carefully took a familiar sheathed sword into her hands.

"Care is needed Smith Albrechtsberger, for this weapon hast been tainted. Place it within thy forge to purge the corruption, thou must not let it not touch thine skin."

"Hey!" The squire cried out, cringing when her sore ribcage objected. "What are you doing with my sword?"

The princess frowned, brow dipping low. "Dost thou not remember thy quest, knave?" Her face contorted into a goofy smile; a quite offensive impersonation of the squire. "Hey! Promise that wont ruin it! It needs to get back to Lay dee Chair ee ot!" Sucy's face drooped back into her neutral scowl, clearing her throat awkwardly.

"Smith Albrechtsberger shalt cleanse thine blade and hone it to a fine edge. Until then thou shalt have to find something else to flail around."

Akko puffed her cheeks in indignation, holding back a flurry of words that would no doubt result in her execution. The young royal giggled, holding a hand up to her mouth politely.

"Thou art far too easy, miss Kagari. A true knight knows how to hold their temper." Though her mouth was wide in a sharp devilish grin, her eyes betrayed her; the guilt remained, clear as day to all.

That being the case, Akko didn't particularly care for her coping mechanisms.

"It shall be done Your Highness. My daughter and I will make this blade the sharpest in the land." The smith bowed low once more, leaving the room and closing the door quietly behind him.

Akko shifted further to the edge of the table to slide off, slowly as to not disrupt her ribs. She needed a shirt or something, being so naked in front of royalty made her extremely anxious; not to mention the cold.

"**What are you doing?!**" A sudden shouting from the opposite end of the room made the squire jump. The princess lept up from her spot next to one of the handmaidens, rushing to Atsuko's side. "You- Thou- Need thy rest!"

Sucy pushed against her chest, ruby red gaze full of irritation. "Why must thou be so insufferable? Shall I bind thee in chains? Paralyze you with my elixirs?!" Akko's expression grew confused at the royal's outburst; she was truly upset, over the health of one nobody squire.

"Please." The princess' voice was small, pleading, with an ember of fire waiting to ignite anew. "I left you alone with that beast; I didn't even know your name and you just hopped in, ready to die. For my sake." She glared angrily between the many bandages and bruises across Atsuko's body as if attempting to scare them away. The other knights were staring now, watching silently as their charge hid her face behind a veil of pink.

"If not for yourself, then by the order of The Crown." Sucy butted her hidden forehead against the brunette's bind lightly, fists clenched against the bandages. "I order you to heal!"

Atsuko couldn't fathom why her bodily health was of such importance to royalty; knights assuredly were injured daily in defense of the kingdom, she didn't deserve special treatment. The experience was reward enough.

Though an order from a princess was an order from a princess.

Akko conceded, laying back on the oaken table with help from the princess. Her warm hands gently supported Akko's neck and back as they fell closer to the surface of the table. A wave of exhaustion crashed against her like a tsunami with the shifting of the blood through her veins; the weight of the very air around her pressed down with force, her mind feeling the same weight. She had lost blood, not a small amount either, during the fight, and the absence tugged at her consciousness forcefully.

"We shalt soon find thee a proper bed. Sleep and be well."

The next thing Squire Kagari knew, she was awakening under a heavy cover of blankets; the furs were soft, the cotton sheets soft as silk. _'Where..?_' Her sense of time was completely missing, like a chunk of memory had been cut from her mind and the two remaining ends spliced together.

She heard crackling, a fire perhaps, roaring away somewhere. The air filling her lungs was crisp and clear despite the smoke a fire would create; the place she was in was well ventilated.

Everything was sore and heavy, muscles barely responding to commands. Akko willed her mind to shut down again, craving that sweet oblivion of slumber.

"Don't leave us yet, Miss Kagari. We must check the setting of your bones." A voice echoed somewhere far off, as if its source stood at the end of a long tunnel.

A sudden chill pulled Akko from the grasp of sleep, goading a shiver from her spine. Cold hands pressed lightly against her thigh, her ankle, and then her rib-cage. "Everything seems to be in its place. When Her Highness returns, we shall get a second opinion."

The mention of royalty sparked something within her fogged mind; there was something she needed to do, wasn't there? "Princess.." The squire mumbled. "Gotta save the princess."

There was a soft laugh nearby. "Her Highness is very safe, Miss. Don't you worry. You saved her already."

_'I did... that's right... Heh.. she didn't like that very much...'_

The haze was taking her again, its black tendrils pulling the squire towards oblivion. "Tell the princess.." The squire murmured as the she drifted. "How..cool I.. was.."

Darkness swallowed her whole.

"...A little bit loopy..."

A muffled voice, thick with humor.

"...seems to be... place.."

"...Shalt... see.."

A second voice, familiar and soft.

Soft fingers glided across Akko's skin, warm and comforting, making her hum with joy. One of the hands halted their movement, taking the brunette's fingers between its own and squeezing. She hummed again, letting whomever was touching her know they were doing a good job. She heard a soft huff nearby, almost a laugh, and then the soft touch was gone.

Akko objected, shifting under the blankets, reaching blindly for the comforting hands; a choked whine escaping her lips.

"Be still my wiggly worm, I am at thy side." The princess' voice was close, a chuckle covering her words. Akko's eyes creaked open to see Her Highness sitting in a chair next to the bed; her smile was small but warm. "Good morning, Squire Kagari. Thine bones have set nicely and have begun to reconcile their fractures. My handmaiden shalt arrive soon with a light meal."

It took a few seconds for Akko's brain to churn through the information, sleepy as she was. "I'm.. not a worm.."

Sucy cackled, a teasing grin growing across her beautiful porcelain face. "I suppose not, but thou art certainly as slow."

"Why... Why are you here Your Highness?

The royal frowned, almost pouting at the brunette's innocent question. "Pardon me for worrying about your health. Should I have left you to bleed out?"

Princess Sucy seemed to fall out of her noble speak often when talking to the squire. Akko had noticed and was appreciative of this fact, as her exhausted brain could barely handle normal English let alone the high dialect of royalty.

"No, Your Highness. Thank you for helping me." The sleepy girl held out an open palm, laying it on the princess' knee face up. She seemed to understand Akko's intention, picking up the cold hand with both of hers, but she went further, gently tracing along each of the squire's palm lines. Gentle crackles from the fire became the only sounds in the room, filling the intervening time between releases of breath.

Though Akko knew nothing of where she had been taken, it was certainly fancier than anywhere she had personally crashed.

The wood of the floor was dark and foreign, each plank cut cleanly and precisely, each plank no doubt costing more than her whole family made in a year. The crown molding that separated handpainted blue wall from fancy ceiling tile was well made, not a single error anywhere, as if the whole room was suddenly zapped into existence instead of being built by human hands.

Gorgeous landscape pictures dotted the room, hung in complex brass or gold frames. Even the linen shielding her body from the cold felt far above her standing, thread count leaps and bounds higher than anything she had ever had the pleasure of feeling before.

The royal rubbed soothing circles into her hand, seeing the anxiety such an expensive looking room brought. "Calm, Atsuko. You are a welcome guest, my father made that explicitly clear."

Akko's eyes opened fully, almost bugging out of her head.

"F-F-F-Father?!" His Majesty, Chosen of the Nine. Ruler of the Kingdom of Luna.

The** King.**

Sucy giggled, squeezing Akko's hand to calm her. "Yes, jumpy little peasant, my father is very grateful for your efforts."

A crushing anxiety settled on Atsuko's shoulders; the king was grateful to her.

"I-It's something anyone would have done. No one owes-" She tried, though the princess immediately cut her off.

"Don't be stupid. I've told you our reasons, and you know them to be true. You're just trying to be humble, noble, like a knight." The princess' expression was bashful yet irritated, slightly hidden behind a veil of hair as she looked away from the squire.

"But you're not a knight. Yet you hold the heart of ten."

**-oOo-**

Not long afterward, a well built young woman wearing a similar uniform to those who had assisted the princess earlier, entered the room holding a covered silver tray effortlessly. "Your Highness." She bowed, careful to keep the tray of food level. "As you ordered."

"Many thanks Jasminka, I hope it is all here this time?" Her tone was slightly accusatory but still teasing, shark toothed grin threatening to escape.

The purple haired girl bowed low. "Y-Yes Your Highness! I apologize for my transgression! It will not happen again!"

Sucy laughed, waving a hand at the handmaiden. "I tease, Miss Antonenko. Simply make sure to keep thyself fed, lest such a thing occur a second time." Jasminka was dismissed; bowing to Her Highness and to the squire, she left the room quietly, leaving the girls alone once more.

"Sweet girl, but has a metabolism like a hummingbird." She lifted the cover off of the tray, revealing a hearty looking stew and a soft loaf of bread. Setting it off to the side, the princess stood, assisting Akko in sitting up.

She was careful and methodical, clearly having tended to the injured before. Akko finally shifted her weight onto her tailbone and down into the bed, sitting up comfortably.

Stirring the stew, the princess took a bite, slightly cringing. "It's a bit hot, careful." She lightly blew on the spoon before offering it towards Akko's closed mouth.

"This feels improper Your Majesty, having you wait on me. Surely a servant could do it?" The squire had tried to convey such thoughts when she awoke, though her words were misunderstood. This time Akko's meaning had reached the royal, who giggled.

"Oh but I am a benevolent ruler. I would never wish such horror upon my subjects." She raised a hand to her forehead dramatically, struggling to contain a wide smile.

The squire's expression drooped; she supposed she should be flattered that the princess was so comfortable around her, but could only scrounge up a mild annoyance. "Rude."

"Don't be a child, open up." A spoon of stew was shoved into Akko's begrudgingly open mouth, before pulling away cleanly. Sucy sat patiently, seemingly awaiting a review of the meal.

It was good. _Really good_. Probably the finest thing to ever grace her tastebuds. The warmth traveled down her esophagus to her stomach, where it swelled and spread to every corner of her body. It tasted like home, like laying down on a familiar bed after a long trip abroad, like hearing that particular floorboard creak under your feet as you walk, like that smell only your own home ever smelt like.

"Well?" The princess asked, still waiting for an answer.

"I-It's good, Your Highness."

She seemed offended, one of her visible eyebrows lowering as she frowned. "Just good? I get you the finest stew the Royal Chef can prepare and it's just 'good'?"

"No no no, Your Highness. It's brilliant, the best thing I've ever eaten." She assured the royal, frantically stumbling over her words to save herself from seeming ungrateful. "My- uh -peasant vocabulary is only so big, Your Highness."

The princess frown crumpled into a grin, stiffiling a laugh. "Yes, I've noticed."

Stirring the bowl of stew further, Princess Sucy brought the spoon back to the squire's mouth.

_'This feels so wrong._' Akko's mind cried out as she swallowed the delicious mush. _'But she seems so willing.'_

It was then that the brunette remembered. The guilt and anger in the princess' gaze. She could have had a servant mend her, a handmaiden feed her; but no.

_'She's still trying to repay me personally. After all that she's done for me, she still feels indebted.'_

Though the frustration grew, Akko calmed herself. There was no use arguing with royalty, Princess Sucy would do as she wished; she should get used to it.

"Thank you, Your Highness. You are truly kind."

Sucy jumped, looking up from the bowl of stew she had been stirring for a whole minute. "What?" A familiar pink returned to the princess' cheeks at the compliment. She looked away again, trying to hide her face. "I-I'm just doing wh-" She stopped herself once the words made it to her brain.

"Now who's trying to be humble?" Akko teased, smiling brightly at the royal.

The squire simply observed for a few moments, watching the princess fiddle with the spoon between her fingers. "You know something, Your Highness?"

The pink haired princess slightly turned back to her, just enough to see Akko's eyes without revealing her own. "What is it, Miss Kagari?" Her voice was small, like she was holding her breath in anticipation of the answer.

"If I had to save anyone, I'm glad it was you." Looking through the veil of hair, Akko could see the pink tint grow, blossoming into a red flare.

"Kind, caring, strong."

Their eyes finally met, red to red.

"You'll make an amazing queen one day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw a lot of these chapters had kind of author thoughts? about the chapter? They might add something to your comprehension of this story so let me know if you want those in the endnotes and I'll update this.


	3. Ursa Major

**-oOo-**

For Akko, the next week was spent sitting down; hours of eating, sleeping, and thinking. Princess Sucy was present for a few of those hours; sometimes they spoke, sometimes they simple enjoyed the quiet. On one of these visits, the young royal had brought a handful of tomes with her. A servant dumped them onto the bed with a hand-motion from the princess, bowing low and leaving the room.

"Read up. We can't have you being mediocre forever."

Since then, finding nothing else to do, Akko took a look at many of the books. Most of them were training manuals: pages upon pages of diagrams, each movement shown coming with a written explanation.

A few of the techniques the squire recognized from Knight Chariot's repertoire: multiple variations of parry, reactionary strikes, and fake outs. Knight Chariot's fighting style was ruthless to the overzealous and the aggressive, as Akko had witnessed time and time again.

Once, while travelling with the fair knightess through a remote village, Atsuko watched Knight Chariot make a show and dance out of an escaped oxen. She dodged each charge gracefully, twirling around the large beast and whacking it across the horn with the pommel of her blade.

The bull eventually gave into it's seething headache and collapsed, where it was simple to haul it back to a pen safely.

Her thoughts drifted to her own attempts at recreating Chariot's parries, how satisfying that first reactionary slice was as it dug poison deep into the mandrake's tendrils.

_'I think I did pretty well for my first real fight.'_

Her rib-cage disagreed, the burning soreness reminding the brunette of her near-death experience. Without the princess' poisons, weakening and ultimately destroying the mandrake, Akko would have been plant food.

_'But she needed someone who could distract it for long enough.'_ A voice within her pointed out, attempting to bolster the girl's self esteem.

Atsuko had long since accepted the fact that she did something crazy; beginning to understand the gratitude she had received from The Crown.

The royal heir continued to provide assistance whenever necessary; reapplying bandages, helping the squire walk, keeping her fed. Though it was all completely below her, Princess Sucy continued to return, day after day.

"These manuals are very interesting, Your Highness, how long until I am able to put them to action?" The princess was sitting at her side like always, nose pressed into a book of her own.

She glanced up over the pages, locking eyes with the brunette. "I shall take a look."

Placing a feather to save her page, Princess Sucy set her book aside, lifting the blankets up around Akko's leg. The colder air of the room was quickly replaced by the warm hands of Her Highness, pressed against the squire's thigh and ankle.

The princess' eyes closed as she glided her soft fingers across Akko's skin, a slight pink glow peeking out from under her eyelids.

"The marrow has made connections in your femur, I should soon be able to heal it enough to stand on."

Akko continued to be amazed by the royal heir's abilities, mending bone and flesh with a flash of warm light; surely this was the power gifted to Luna by the Nine.

"Though don't be so eager, my court jester, lest you waste all my hard work." Re-wrapping the brunette's ankle, she tucked the heavy blanket back under the bed, grinning impishly at Atsuko.

She sat back down on her chair, looking off to the side in thought. "Instead of flailing about and risking another fracture.." The pink haired royal began, returning her eyes to the other set of red. "How would you feel about a visit to the royal smith? I have been told your sword is complete."

Akko's interest was piqued, sitting up straighter in bed; this was an opportunity to finally arrive at her intended destination, completing her initial mission.

"Am I in good enough shape to walk, Your Highness?" Looking down at her covered leg, she lightly gnawed at her lower lip. Her mind cried out in objection, the damage had been severe, there was no way a normal person could stand on it so soon.

_'But you're not healing like a normal person, are you. You have the princess.'_

That small rational part of her brain pointed out the obvious yet again, dispelling needless anxiety.

"You should be fine for a quick walk after I fuse the bone, as long as you're careful." Her smile was kind, that one visible eye warm; both turned mischievous on a dime as she chuckled. "Who am I kidding, you are physically incapable of being careful." Grasping the brunette's hand, Sucy turned to pick up her book.

"It's a good thing I'll be with you."

**-oOo-**

Later the next day, the princess arrived in Akko's room looking much worse for wear; tired, grumpy, yet still greeting her with a tiny smile. A servant wheeled a cart into the room behind her, full of medical supplies, including a very familiar pink goo.

"Prepare thyself for a chill, dearest hibernating bear, I require full access for this procedure." Her tone was hard while still feeling friendly enough, surely trying not to let her bad mood spoil their time together.

Obeying Her Highness' orders, Atsuko tensed, reading her body for the air. The layers of cotton and wool were pulled aside, exposing her bare legs to the cold.

Carefully unwrapping Akko's leg and removing the brace, the princess rubbed something herbal and ice cold on her thigh; all feeling was sapped away from that spot. "An incision must be made in the skin to administer my salve. There will be a sting."

A tiny poke, comparable to a bug bite, and then a stinging sensation, warmth sinking into her leg. The warmth spread, moving through her flesh until it burned comfortably around her bones.

Princess Sucy carefully maneuvered a hand underneath the brunette's thigh, placing the other on top so that Akko's leg was held gently between them. "Relax thy muscles and be still. Breathe deeply."

Obeying every command, the squire relaxed herself as much as possible, imagining her very flesh melting like snow on the first days of spring. The burning around her femur intensified, and she felt a familiar pink glow wash against her; warm, gentle, soothing. Akko shivered as she felt her bone liquefy and then reform within her leg, sighing in relief as the soreness that had plagued her for days subsided with the heat.

Another layer of cool pink gel spread across her anklebone, slowly sinking down through her flesh to rest around the hairline fracture.

"Deep breaths, one last time. Relax." Her Highness gently moved her hands to around Atsuko's ankle, focusing her strength. The brunette's sleepy ears could make out a low whisper, puffs of air against her skin.

"By the power of the Nine. With my own hands, I shall right this wrong."

When all was said and done, the princess helped Akko to her feet, keeping the squire steady with a grip on her forearms. Her expression was hesitant, expecting, like she was waiting for something to go wrong. "Nothing? It's stable?"

Akko beamed at the royal, nodding excitedly. "Perfect, Your Highness. You continue to amaze me." Sucy's worry melted into a shy smile as she led the squire around the room in a sort of waltz. A step back, then another, a turn, a step forward.

The sound of the door clicking closed jolted the girls out of their comfortable haze, the servant that had assisted in Akko's procedure leaving them silently. Turning their eyes from the door to each-other, they let go in panic, blushing profusely at how close their faces were.

With the sudden lack of support, Akko stumbled, grabbing wildly onto the closest thing available; this closest thing just happened to be the crown princess of Luna, who pushed forcefully against the squire's face. "Hands off peasant! Thine foul grip is ursine!"

Wrapped around Her Highness' waist, Akko looked up, viewing the princess' offended face sheepishly. "Sorry Y-Your Highness. You're- uh - just very huggable." Ceasing her assault, the young royal looked aside bashfully, helping the squire to her feet again.

"After we get you into some warmer clothes, I shall send for a cane or crutch of some description. I no longer trust you to keep stable." Akko could feel the princess' soft thumbs absentmindedly rubbing against her forearms; Her Highness flip flopping so quickly between gentle and forceful, caring and mischievous.

Leading Atsuko backwards toward the bed, the princess settled her down carefully, letting go of the brunette's arms with a tiny squeeze. "Sit and stay my dear cripple, I will procure thee an outfit." A teasing grin curled across her lips, though her eyes twinkled with warmth. Akko only smiled in response, nodding her head in understanding.

**-oOo-**

Akko could smell the snow before she felt its deathly chill upon her face, days indoors having acclimatized her to the scent of the castle. Hobbling out into the frost, a mahogany cane transferring weight away from her still healing leg, the brunette took in her surroundings.

She had been to the royal smith before, but never from any other direction than the front, it all seemed so alien now. A high stone wall, caked with ice rose up to their right, connecting further with the western wing of Castle Manbavaran to support its gleaming spires. Empty troughs filled with dirt and snow bordered the path on the left, no doubt once filled with gorgeous flowers.

Fiddling with the fastenings of her cloak, the brunette glanced to her companion, swathed in her own robe of thick fur. "Shall we, milady?" Akko offered her elbow in a chivalrous manner, a goofy grin plastered on her face.

Her Highness huffed a laugh, slight red tinge to her cheeks as she adjusted her hood. "We shall, my court jester." Taking the squire's arm, Sucy led her patient along the wall, passing by numerous guardsmen standing sentinel in the snow. Each knight they passed bowed their frostbitten helmets in respect, disturbing snow that had settled atop their heads.

Akko watched the guardsmen closely as the princess approached; each and every one of them tightened their grip on their halberds, twice as vigilant in defense of Her Highness. In her mind's eye she could see herself in their greaves, standing vigil for Her Highness as a true shield of The Crown.

"Look."

A tug on her elbow brought her gaze down to Princess Sucy, who chuckled and grabbed the brunette's chin, forcing her to look past the royal at castle town. "You've probably never seen it from up here; It's gorgeous when it snows."

Her Highness spoke true. Down below the castle walls, shades of white and blue sprawled outward like brushstrokes on a canvas. Rooftop after rooftop blanketed with frost, the evening sun refracting through icicles, hung like shimmering stockings along the undersides.

The orange glow of fire was visible through frosted windows, contrasting against the white world so much like the heat it brought to frozen homes. Vibrant greens of towering fir trees, dusted with snow, shot up in defiance along the roads.

Even in a season of white, there was so much colour to be found.

The pair simply stood and took it in, silently watching workers and peasants mill around below, struggling through the frost for their families well being.

"This winter is one of the worst its ever been." Sucy muttered softly, genuine worry creeping into her features. "I hope they're doing okay."

"The Crown is paying volunteers that go out and chop firewood for the town. So at least no one will freeze to death." As she spoke, a hand lifted off of Akko's arm to fiddle with the hood of her cloak.

"But with the non hibernating wildlife gone... Who knows if we'll have enough meat to wait this out. I worry for their nourishment." Akko understood her fear, a lack of protein and severe weather did not mix well. Even the dried and preserved scraps of previous slaughters were sufficient in fighting off lethargy; though when even that ran out..

"I only pray the Nine will be merciful."

Akko tugged at the princess with her elbow, trying to pull the young ruler out of her sorrow. "We'll have to see, Your Highness." She began, finally locking eyes with her brilliant rubies. "But if they're going to be alright, they need you to be alright. Let's get to the smith before you catch a cold."

With a sigh, Sucy returned her grip to the squire's elbow, leading the way to the royal smith. "For an idiot peasant, you certainly can have a way with words."

Akko chuckled, puffing one cheek as she focused on her feet. "I will take that as a compliment, Your Highness."

**-oOo-**

The difference in temperature was immediate, and very much noticeable. The heat from the forge filled the smithy, fogging the windows and forcing the two girls to remove their cloaks.

"Your Highness." Smith Albrechtsberger bowed low, holding his bandanna against his chest in reverence, thinning hairline visible. "It is a great honor to have you in our humble smith." His face was dirty with ash and soot, bags under his eyes making his devoted effort clear.

"My daughter and I have been working day and night on your blade; I am certain you will find its edge to be unmatched in all of Luna." He raised himself back to standing, wrapping the grey cloth back around his head, tired eyes shining with enthusiasm.

The princess, still attached to Atsuko's bicep and elbow, smiled warmly. "My thanks, Smith Albrechtsberger, thou art loyal to The Crown, and a fine smith. Thine efforts shall be relayed to His Majesty."

"Thank you, Your Highness. Your sword will just be a moment, let me call for my daughter." The aged smith almost skipped into the back room, disappearing from view. Akko was left stood beside the royal, observing the smithy with nostalgia.

She had been here before, years ago with the good knightess. Mighty stone walls stood firm, not a single scratch of difference since her last visit; the wood supporting the room had darkened with time, from years of soot and metallic dust.

The great forge burned hot, keeping a metal blade of some description malleable while the smith was busy. Akko could see a pair of bellows she had never noticed before attached to the side.

"They are used to increase the temperature of the forge, simple charcoal does not burn hot enough on its own." The princess explained, following the squire's eyes towards the contraptions.

She had yet to let go of the squire's arm, yet Akko did not find it necessary to bring it up; a princess will do what a princess wishes. Who was she to interfere?

"Your Highness, Miss Kagari, I would like you to meet my daughter: Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger." Turning around slowly thanks to her mobility with a cane, Akko's eyes landed on a small raven haired child; she had a thick hide apron around her waist, as well as a grey bandanna like her father. Her eyes were bright green like the grass in deep spring, and though she was short, her stance was confident.

She said nothing, simply bowing her head low to Her Highness like her father, offering out a sheathed blade in both hands.

"Please accept the fruits of our labor, Miss Kagari. I hope Knight Chariot will find it pleasing." The royal smith bowed alongside his daughter, and Akko hobbled towards the pair, shifting her weight to one foot, the princess taking the cane from her grip. She took the weapon from the tiny girl's gloved hands, unsheathing the blade to view its majesty.

Its polished surface gleamed brightly, reflecting the warm orange light of the forge; Akko could see herself in the blade, battered and broken, eyes wide in awe. The oxidated green of the sword's copper design was clear as day now, layers of grime burnt away by a combination of Her Highness' poison and the fires of the forge.

Seven green circles dotted the side of Knight Chariot's Claiomh Solais, in a familiar shape to any who looked at the night sky.

Ursa Major, the grand chariot that ferries the dead and lost across the heavens.

"It's beautiful..." She murmured, viewing the blade's fine edge; she could see how the edge vanished into thin air, how its end point was unclear, sharper than the eye could even fathom.

"I am humbled, Miss Kagari. Such a magnificent blade was an honor to hone." The smith bowed his head in thanks, smiling warmly.

Princess Sucy chuckled, tugging on the brunette's arm. "Wouldst thou wish to test the blade? Give us a few swings."

"But be careful." She teased. "If thou injure the princess in thine excitement, thou shalt be executed."

Akko gulped, nodding in understanding and tugging at her collar. The two smiths took three steps back, far from harms way.

The weapon's balance was perfect and its edge exquisite; the squire could hear wind part around the blade with a whistle as she moved it around.

Bringing the tip down to the left, Akko swiped diagonally up, cleaving the very air in twain.

She quickly swiped left, shivering at the sound and laughing with glee.

It took some willpower to finally sheath the blade, hiding the gorgeous weapon once more within the hide; she could have swung until the sun rose, but her leg was beginning to beg for the cane.

"Oh! Your payment!" She suddenly remembered, searching her clothes for a wallet that wasn't there.

Smith Albrechtsberger waved a hand, shaking his head. "Nonsense. The savior of Her Highness need not worry about such things." Constanze nodded in agreement.

Akko flushed. 'Savior?' Such a title was far too grandiose for her nerves. "I-I uh still feel like-"

"Do not be so humble my dearest cripple" Sucy chided, cutting her off. "They art loyal servants of The Crown, and their praises shall be sung to His Majesty."

Handing the squire her cane the princess' grip returned to Akko's arm, tugging her away from the smiths. "Now come along, thou art interrupting their duties."

Retrieving their cloaks, the pair stepped back out into the snow, shuddering at the drastic change in temperature. The sun had begun to set, adding bright oranges to the previous orchestra of colour.

Her Highness' grip tightened on Atsuko's arm, pining for the warmth of the smithy, but determined to return her patient back to bed.

"Let us move quickly, this dreadful frost angers me."


	4. Frost (Part 1)

**-oOo-**

Sitting on her bed, staring blankly at herself within the reflection of Chariot's sword, Akko's mind was fogged in thought. She had been a guest in the castle for multiple weeks now, and the princess' hospitality had continued to baffle her. Every single day, the crown princess of Luna would arrive quietly in the squire's room with a soft smile, making herself comfortable next to the bed; either reading in silence or conversing with her patient.

It felt so wrong to Atsuko; becoming so comfortable with royalty. She should be groveling at such a holy figure's feet. Her lowly peasant blood and the voices within let their discontent grow larger and louder with each passing hour.

_'You shouldn't be here.'_

_'You aren't worthy of Her presence.'_

_'You've overstayed your welcome.'_

And then she would arrive, sharing that tiny warm smile, and the feelings would dissipate. The comfortable air would roll in, and together they would sit, like every day before, and Akko was happy.

As the days went by however, a different voice appeared, one that did not relent with the princess' approach. As the princess spoke to her of events in the castle, it was there; as they sat comfortably and enjoyed each other's company, it was there. This voice was not loud and demanding, but sat upon her heart silently, becoming a constant burden.

_'The task is complete, you are healed. Isn't it time to be returning home?'_

Knight Chariot would no doubt be waiting for her, waiting for her newly sharpened blade, perhaps with a few words praise and even more of impatience; the squire had certainly taken her sweet time. Her father and mother had only been told their daughter was injured, and that she was being treated, nothing else; they were guaranteed to be worried beyond all doubt.

"Your Highness." She spoke up, breaking the companionable silence that had settled. The royal brought her nose out of her book, looking up under her eyebrows at her patient; an unspoken approval to continue. "I've been thinking-"

"Ooh, a dangerous thing." Sucy cut in, a teasing grin across her lips. "We can't have you doing that."

"Your Highness, please." Now was not the time for fun and games. "I've decided something." If Akko didn't spit it out right now, her heart told her she wouldn't ever be able to leave.

The princess' smile dropped, a slightly concerned expression growing in its place. The book was forgotten, placed down into her lap, giving the squire full attention.

Atsuko fidgeted, looking down at her hands, mustering up the courage to continue. "You have been very kind to me for weeks, you have healed my wounds and stayed by my side, and I am forever grateful for your hospitality." The conjunction wasn't needed, Her Highness's spine straightened, beginning to fiddle with a page of her book, waiting quietly for the rest.

"It's time for me to get back to Knight Chariot. I have finished my errand."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Akko regretted ever opening it. Princess Sucy closed her eyes, attempting and utterly failing to hide the sorrow filling her heart. It was something Akko never figured out: why one of such high blue blood valued her continued presence.

"Your-" Akko tried, but was cut off before she could continue. "No. I understand. You have a life to get back to." Her Highness looked at the squire with a sad smile, delicate hands bunching her gown tightly.

"I cannot keep you from your home and loved ones forever." She let out one tuff of a sardonic laugh. "No matter how much I may wish to." An uncomfortable silence hung over the pair, constricting Akko's throat tightly. She wanted to say something, anything, to scare off that disappointed sorrow to her eyes.

But she said nothing.

The royal suddenly stood, picking up her book and heading for the door. She stopped when her hand touched against the great pine. "I shall ready thee an escort; If thou art leaving us, I wish for it to be in comfort and good health." With a tight lipped smile, and a flutter of her silk dress, she was gone.

**-oOo-**

The snowstorm had let up when Atsuko left the castle, though grey clouds still dominated the skies. Claiomh Solais, sheathed within rugged rawhide, clinked against her hip; at the ready in case she was beset upon by anything foul on her journey.

Ice crunched beneath Akko's boots as she strode ahead, her ankle supported on all sides by thick leather to prevent any further twisting. Her Highness' powers had fully healed the squire's battered and broken body, even her ribs fused completely, deep breaths easy and clean.

_'Her Highness...'_

Princess Manbavaran had made herself quite rare since that morning, and her absence hung heavy on Akko's heart. The moments alone had allowed the squire to ruminate on Her Highness; coming to terms with just how comfortable they had become over the weeks.

As much as her peasant blood cried out in objection, Akko though of Princess Sucy as a friend, someone she could be herself around. The feelings may have been mutual, if Her Highness' sorrow was any indication.

But this wasn't her world, and no matter how much she wished to stay, there were family and friends awaiting her return; people who counted on her. It was never meant to be.

Horses were ready at the gate for her departure, just as the princess ordered, saddles fastened tight. Sir Yanson stood next to one of the creatures, shuffling through its saddlebag with a list in one hand, likely checking stock. His expression brightened when Akko made herself known, closing the bag and striding over.

"Ah Knight Kagari! Her Highness requested I accompany you on your trip; 'valuable cargo' is how she put it I recall." His smile was warm and friendly, trying his best to lighten the heavy mood around the castle. The princess' sadness seemed to be bringing down everyone else as well, and Akko's guilt felt even heavier in her chest.

"Thank you very much, Knight Yanson. It will be nice to have some company." She cringed internally at the sound of her own voice, hollow and quiet, painting her as insincere. The ginger knight didn't seem to take it that way, quietly walking up to her and putting a hand on her head.

"She'll never forget you, kid. You really brought a lot of sunshine to that girl's life."

Akko looked up, nodding in understanding. "I won't forget her either." Truly it had been an amazing experience, one she would always cherish; a tale to tell the village kids.

Knight Yanson smiled at that, looking past the squire. "Well don't tell me that, tell her."

She whipped her head around, spinning on the ice in the process. Standing quietly behind her, donned in the familiar brown fur cloak, was the Crown Princess of Luna. Sucy fidgeted in the snow, avoiding the squire's gaze, trying to hide behind her pink veil.

"It pleases me that thou shalt try to remember, thine memory skills lacking as they are." She weakly joked, trying a smile that crumpled after a few moments of eye contact.

The princess stepped forward, taking one of Akko's gloved hands in both of her own. "Please take care of yourself, yeah? I worked pretty hard on you, don't put it to waste." She murmured, rubbing soothing circles as she had countless times over the weeks.

Feeling a surge of warmth and courage, Akko swapped their roles, taking Princess Sucy's delicate pale hand and bringing it up to her mouth, bowing her head in reverence. "By your orders, Your Highness." Three kisses were laid upon her knuckles in a chivalrous manner; the squire releasing a warm breath upon her cold skin.

Princess Sucy's smile was warm yet morose, a tiny blush upon her cheeks. "Return to us one day, Miss Kagari. Thou shalt always be a welcome guest."

Akko nodded, giving one last squeeze to the royal's hand before she took a step back, bowing low.

"It was an honour, Your Highness. May we meet again." Her Highness stood back, holding her hands to her chest, watching her friend turn her back.

"Shall we?" Sir Yanson inquired, situated on his steed with a patient smile. Climbing onto her horse, and giving one last smile towards the princess, Squire Kagari nodded, squeezing her heels against the great steed's sides and departing from the castle.

**-oOo-**

Neither of the knights particularly spoke on the journey, sometimes Sir Yanson would offer a drink or ask her about the town, and she would respond in kind; otherwise the ride was silent.

The trip was rather straightforward, simply follow the road from Castle Manbavaran, but it seemed fate would not be so kind. It had started snowing half way through the trip, and had only gotten worse from there.

Harsh wind scratched against her face, filling her hood with frost. It was getting colder, the path ahead fogged by snow; Akko slowly felt the icy claws creep into her flesh, filling her with dread.

"I don't like this." She spoke aloud, taking her eyes off of the road to look Sir Yanson in the eyes.

He didn't respond, but Akko could see muscles in the knight's forehead tense as he clenched his jaw. His horse was just as agitated, becoming increasingly opposed to continuing as time went on.

Within minutes the fog parted, revealing the snow covered roofs of Torinosu. The squire's eyes scanned the area with anxiety, frozen ears hearing nothing but the howling wind.

It was quiet. Far too quiet for a village in the middle of the day.

Mr. Hashimoto should be chopping firewood,

Akio and Haya should be playing in the snow.

Mrs. Daniels should be yelling at them.

Her suddenly arms whipped, goading her horse into a gallop. Her heart was beating hard in her ears, the dread in her heart growing to full blown panic.

_'By the Nine... Please let me be wrong.'_

The squire rode quickly into the village, frantically looking left and right for any signs of the townsfolk. There was only ice; large unnatural hunks of the stuff, sitting alone in the snow.

"Hello?" She called, feeling something inside her drop at the sound of her echoing voice. "Chariot!" She was shouting now, feeling the edges of her eyes sting.

**"ANYONE!?"**

Silence and a mocking whip of wind were the only answers.

"Please..." The squire keeled over, pressing her forehead against her horse. She had wasted too much time, something had happened while Chariot was unarmed, she should have left earlier, maybe-

A rustle from her right made the squire jump. "Hello?" She tried again, hopping off the horse into the snow.

Something shuffled around in the dark, a humanoid shape to be sure, limping from unknown injuries. Akko's face drained of blood when it stepped out into the light, stumbling backward into the snow.

It was the old woman that lived at the end of the street. Her skin was as white as the frost beneath their feet, black pits sank where her lovely green eyes used to be. Shards of ice grew from her neck and shoulder, causing her head to tilt in the opposite direction, and as the squire looked she could see more shards, clustered heavily around her hands and feet.

Akko was in shock. _'I don't- I just helped her with her groceries before I left. She was going to make stew.'_

The frozen woman continued to stumble towards her, a frost covered hand outstretched. _"Akko..._" She wheezed, sounding like the very wind whipping around their heads. _"It's so cold..."_

Before the icy fingers could touch her face, a steel boot connected with the outstretched arm, breaking it off at the forearm like it was made of glass. **"KAGARI! GET UP!"** Knight Yanson's loud shouting shook the squire out of her daze.

She scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping over in her panic. "What happened to her?!" She cried, drawing her sword instinctively.

"I knew this winter was different. Everyone knew." He grumbled to himself, pulling his own weapon out of its sheath and pointing it at the reeling form in front of him.

"We should have- What could we have done?" The knight continued to mumble, kicking the woman in the stomach when she got too close.

More rustling brought Akko's sword tip behind her, pressing her back to the much broader one of Sir Yanson. One of the large ice blocks she had noticed earlier had _stood up_, clumps of ice and snow imitating limbs as it stomped through the snow towards her.

"Theres a uh.. golem behind us." She announced, holding her sword defensively. It was just one, about as tall as she was. "I can- I can take it. You worry about her." Truth be told, voices in her head screamed at her for assuming anything about her abilities, and she kind of agreed.

_'You only barely survived the last fight because of the princess! You'll die without her help!'_

_'You've been in bed for weeks, you've almost certainly gotten rusty! What are you thinking!'_

But Akko didn't really have very many options, and so readied her stance for the approaching creature. Its movements were slow but purposeful, an unnatural power behind each step. She was reminded of a bull, and the correlation sparked a connection in her mind.

She stepped forward, strafing around the golem as to get a better position. Her sword tipped downwards defensively, preparing for the strike, and when it came she sidestepped swiping upward across the ice. The creature had over-committed to its strike and was open to a follow up, receiving another deep gash through its back.

Each slice was clean and effortless, Smith Albrechtsberger's claim was no hyperbole, Akko could cut through solid ice like parchment. Filled with adrenaline and confidence, Akko stepped back, returning to her defensive stance to await the next blow.

She didn't have to wait long, as the golem didn't seem to own a sense of exhaustion. Its swings were less aggressive this time, going for quicker horizontal punches than overhead slams.

'_It's intelligent then...'_

It may be smarter than the average animal, but it was still far slower than she was, struggling to keep its vulnerable backside away from the squire's blade. With a quick dashback, she faked it out, slicing upward through its arm; lobbing it clean off.

With only one arm, the golem's vulnerable area grew twice as large, simply unable to turn fast enough to stop Akko from getting free slices. From there it snowballed out of control, and soon the golem sat arm-less in the snow, the entire top of its 'head' cleaved in twain.

A kick was the last thing Akko needed to reduce the golem to a simple block of ice, and it lay still.

Adrenaline coursing through her veins, Akko turned to see Knight Yanson fighting off four frozen villagers, with more golems on their way. She paled, shaking her head.

"We can't to this by ourselves. We need to run; find Knight Chariot." She declared, helping the ginger man kick away the villagers.

With one hand she slapped the side of her horse. "Get out of here! They'll know we need help!" The black steed didn't need to be told anything else, breaking out into a full gallop, sprinting out of the town loudly.

The distraction allowed the two knights to mount Sir Yanson's horse and escape the opposite way, towards Chariot's home. "She has to be there. Knight Chariot would never just abandon this town."

Claiomh Solais felt heavy on her hip, a guilt settling itself right beside thoughts of the princess. _'If only she had her sword...'_

As soon as the house was in sight, Akko leaped off of the horse into the snow, scrambling towards the door. It was partly open, never a good sign, and the lack of fire within clear; filling the squire with absolute dread. "Chariot would never put out a fire in winter." She whispered, frantically looking around the living room.

Everything was exactly as it should be, frost and snow not withstanding. Her mug of tea was sitting right next to her favourite chair, still full and steaming like it had just been poured. Chariot's thick woolen blanket was bunched up on the floor in front of her chair, she had stood up quickly.

There was a letter sitting on the coffee table, wax seal broken, clearly having been read before being respectfully folded back up. The seal was familiar, something in the back of Akko's mind clicking at the sight.

_'The Royal Seal...'_ Something she had seen countless times during her visit.

Gently picking it up, Akko skimmed over its contents, mumbling each word aloud.

"Dearest Chariot, Knight of the Realm. The Crown would like to inform thee... state of thine squire..." The letter was about _her_. A similar one must have been sent to her parents, albeit one with less respectful wording and less answers.

She read on, the letter detailed her fight with the mandrake and the extend of her injuries, as well as information on the state of Claiomh Solais.

"Squire Kagari fought valiantly... blah blah... her skill with..." It went on to praise her swordsmanship and bravery, possibly a bit too much for her liking. It sounded like someone gushing about the exploits of a great hero; something she was not. "Who-" She looked down at the bottom for a name, the identity of the letter's writer.

"Respectfully, Her Royal Highness Sucy Manbavaran.. Crown Princess.. of... Luna.." Atsuko felt her face warm; Her Highness spoke so highly of her in the letter, more so than ever necessary. For all of her teasing, the princess certainly thought more of her than Akko realized. She smiled, forgetting for a moment the dire situation.

"Akko!" Knight Yanson whispered harshly from the door. "Find anything? We need to move soon."

Right. The ice zombie things. The golems. _Saving the town._

"Uh..." She took one last look around the living room, running up the stairs to check the top floor. "Nothing!" She whisper-yelled, though as she was leaving, a glance at the fireplace revealed all of the tools normally used to stoke the fire were missing.

She shook her head and focused on the town; there were more houses to check, people that might need saving.

'_Momma... Papa... Chariot... by the Nine, please be safe.'_


	5. Frost (part 2)

**-oOo-**

Only minutes after leaving Chariot's estate, the knights came across a much smaller home a street over. They watched from afar, a horde of icy beasts crowded outside, banging on the chipped wooden walls forcefully. The gears in Atsuko's head began turning at the sight, tugging on Knight Yanson to halt the steed.

"From what I've seen, these things only move when there are living things nearby." She whispered, pointing towards the house. "And if they're trying to get in, then that must mean..."

_Survivors._

"Let's head around to the opposite street." Sir Yanson suggested, silently turning the horse around and trotting around the block. He guided the steed carefully through the snow, as to minimize the noise emitted by steel horseshoes.

Though far fewer in number, there was another group of frozen villagers scratching at the back wall of the house. Five in number, they desperately clawed into the boards like wild animals, catching the scent of fresh blood.

Slipping off of the horse as quietly as possible, Akko crouched down in the snow, staying low to the ground as to avoid detection. The cold seeped through her gloves, numbing her flesh as she crawled closer. Minor discomfort was not the highest thing on Akko's list however, as any sufficient noise would sign her death warrant.

Creeping along the next-door building's exterior, Squire Kagari slinked into the gap between the homes where wooden scaffolding supported the cobblestone wall and chimney stack. About two meters off the ground was a tiny window for feeding light into a raised bed-loft; not the best way to see inside, but Akko was lacking in any other plans of attack at the moment.

Taking one last look around for any approaching monsters, the squire pressed her boot down against one of the scaffolding planks to test its strength. It was sturdy, but not the greatest foothold, forcing Akko to quickly reach her left leg up into the space between a diagonal plank and the chimney.

The windowsill was thin, as no builder expected anyone to try to see through it from this side. As such only the tips of Atsuko's fingers could get a proper grip. Muscles tensing and jittering from the complicated climb and faulty handholds, Akko had a short window of time to peer into the house, scanning quickly left to right for any sign of the surviving townsfolk.

She nearly dropped her grip when a face poked into view; round youthful cheeks, straight raven black hair that reached down to their shoulders, bright hazel eyes blown wide in shock. '_Haya!'_ A weight leaped off of her shoulders at the sight of the small child safe indoors.

_'But she's not safe yet, they need your help._' She told herself, steeling her resolve; the shield of the innocent must never tire when citizens need her help.

She lifted a finger to her lips, pointing first to herself and then to the little girl. _'Stay quiet. I'll be right there.'_

Dropping down silently into the snow, Atsuko peeked a single eye around the corner. The villagers had not taken notice of her yet, too focused on bashing their frozen heads through the wall.

Taking advantage of their determination, the squire crawled through the ice, sneaking behind a bit of dead brush to conceal her further. The great hope in Akko's chest spread through her veins, warming her numb hands as they dug into the snow; Haya was alive, and in dire need of her help.

"Sir Yanson!" She whisper-yelled once sufficiently far enough away from the horde. "There are children stuck in there!" His jaw clenched, a spark lighting in his eyes. She swore she saw them glaze over for a second, a picture appearing in his mind's eye, but it could have been her nerves.

"There's no way we'll be able to them safely with so many of them right outside." The knight grumbled, scratching at his mighty ginger beard in thought. Ever so slowly creeping the horse around the building, Sir Yanson watched the horde, gears turning round in his brain.

"But if I make some ruckus and lead them away from here..." He began, looking down at the small squire crouched in the snow. Akko almost certainly knew where he was going with this, gnawing at her lip with anxiety.

"You can sneak in and grab the kids."

And there it was. Akko stood, looking down into the frost, continuing her consumption of her own lip. "But what if any find their way back?" She questioned, nervously pressing her index fingers together at the tip.

"I've seen you fight." The beardy knight said simply, pointing down to Atsuko's hip. "You fought off a rabid mandrake all on your lonesome with a dull blade; you have a sharp one this time."

Although everything he said was true, Akko wasn't exactly comforted.

"And hey!" He added. "if you do get injured, that just means more time with Her Highness!" The teasing smile beneath his great 'stache could rival that of even the princess. Akko found the comparison quite horrifying: two relentlessly teasing people in her life sounded nightmarish.

Being honest with herself, potentially more time with Her Highness was a pleasing thought; having those soft healing hands on her skin again a welcome reward. Though she wasn't about to throw herself to the sharks intentionally for the chance at such things. Not yet at least.

"You better pull all of them." She conceded with a huff. This was their only possible plan other than waiting for reinforcements to arrive. But by then it may have been too late.

Kneeling back down into the snow, she raised a thumb, giving her begrudging support for the plan. She was just far back enough to be invisible to the hordes while still having an easy shot towards the door.

"Well then, wish me luck! Don't die!" He shouted, flicking the reigns to goad his steed into a mad dash.

Together the knight and his horse flew down the village road, making as much noise as possible as they blew past the shack. Seeing prey that wasn't blocked by such a strong barrier, the horde followed quickly behind, leaving the front door clear.

Akko waited a few moments as stragglers squeezed between the buildings to chase Sir Yanson. When the coast was clear, the squire quickly crept towards the door, poking her head above the windowsill to see inside.

There were far more people than just one scared little girl, all huddled together in the center of the room or up in the bed-loft. The ones who heard Knight Yanson's ruckus and didn't immediately cower in fear, widened their eyes at the sight of her.

One of the men- whom Akko vaguely recognized from the general store -jumped to his feet, rushing to the door to unlock it for her. "Akko? What are you doing out there?!" He cried in disbelief. "We heard something loud outside and then they all ran off!"

Little Haya scampered across the room towards her, hugging the squire's legs tight. Akko placed a gentle hand on her head, attempting to calm the terrified shaking that had overcome the child.

"A friend of mine, buying us time." She explained, looking over the huddled group while she soothed Haya. The squire audibly gasped when she spotted a familiar face, laying injured on the floor.

A head of black hair covered a wide forehead filled with deep wrinkles, crows feet framing his closed eyes, years of stressful labour taking its tole on him. His head was wrapped with bandages, covering a nasty wound no doubt; memories of the frozen one's icy fists adding more evidence to that theory.

"Papa!" Akko shouted, gently prying the little girl from her and scrambling to his side. "Papa what happened? Where is Mamma?" The aged oriental man snapped open his eyes at the sound of her voice, looking with wide eyed awe at his very alive and unharmed daughter.

The man's eyes watered as he reached a hand out to her face. "Akachan tori... Is it really you?" His rough palm cupped the squire's cheek, feeling her very real skin and laughing.

"Yes Papa, I'm here. I'm real." She reassured, nodding furiously while holding his hand to her face.. "But please Papa, where is Mamma?" She had to know, with absolute certainty, that her family was safe amidst the chaos.

A hand dropped down onto her shoulder, causing her to look left at the person attached to it. Her next door neighbour, Mr. Norihiko, looked down at her with a serious expression. "Last we saw, your mother was with Knight Chariot and the others when we were separated."

"Right... with Chariot. Good." If her mother was with Chariot as Mr. Norihiko said, she would certainly be safe.

"What do you mean separated?" She inquired, what could cause Chariot to just leave a chunk of the villagers behind? She tucked her father's hand back under the blanket and stood up to converse eye to eye with her neighbours.

"A little while ago when it was snowing harder, we got attacked by that giant monster." His choice of words caught her interest; from what she's seen so far, there wasn't anything out there much taller than she was. "It seemed more interested in Chariot though, she distracted it while we ran to this shack."

"What monster? The golems aren't that big." Voicing her concerns, Akko turned her head slightly to the left, eyes still on his. Mr. Norihiko seemed offended by her question, creasing his brows like it was silly for her not to know.

"You know, the _big_ one." He tried again, emphasizing the word big, just in case she misunderstood.

"With... With all the eyes.."

A dread clung to the squire's heart, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand, like a cold wind blowing against her. "We have to go. We have to go now."

"Everyone who has their strength help those who don't." She commanded to the villagers, eager to get them to safety as fast as humanly possible. "Gather all your things, we're headed south out of the village."

Though she was worried about Chariot and her mother, everything knightly in her screamed to prioritize the innocents. Chariot had people to protect, and so did she. They would meet back up eventually.

A sudden bang on the door caused everyone in the shack to snap their heads towards it. Snow was falling out the window at intensive volumes, fogging the world around the source of the bang.

Frozen villagers, ten of them, right outside. They were focusing their efforts on the window, slamming their icy fists into the glass. Mumbles of help turning into animistic cries.

_'No...'_ Something dropped within her chest, shattering against the floor. _'I was supposed to save them... I..'_

The door, already weakened from an hour of previous abuse, began giving way. Splinters snapped from the wood as it bent and broke under the strain. None of the surviving villagers said a word, simply paralyzed in fear.

"Akko..." Haya cried, looking to her for any reassurance. Anything to tell her this wasn't the end.

"My baby bird..." She heard her father whisper.

_'No.'_ Their whimpers of terror sparked something behind her eyes, burning through the despair.

Atsuko drew Claiomh Solais angrily, swiping it through the air horizontally to hear the sound. "NO!" She shouted, grinding her teeth together when the door finally crashed to the ground.

"You don't get to do this!" She screamed, kicking the closest beast back; swiping upward to lob it's extended arm clean off. "I'm going to save them!"

Akko's blood was pumping through her ears, fires igniting in her muscles. The same adrenaline she felt when defending Her Highness from the mandrake. The feeling of smiting evil to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

"No one is going to stop me!" She grasped the sword with both hands, widening her stance for battle, digging her boots into the wooden floorboards. She would die a thousand times over before she let a single scratch be laid on anyone behind her.

_ **"I am the shield of the innocent!"** _

With her war cry, a warm orange light blew forth from the hilt of Claiomh Solais, extending the blade and wreathing it in glorious fire. The designs along the blade's face lit up, bathing the shack in a rainbow of different colours.

_ **"YOU CANNOT HAVE THEM!"** _

Akko swung the blade diagonally up, cleaving the torso off of the nearest frozen one; swiping horizontally to lob the head off of another.

A golem was next, a swing of its mighty arm interrupted by the entirety of Claiomh Solais piercing through its fist and body. The squire yanked the blade upward out of the melting ruin, bringing the momentum around for another horizontal slice.

Again, and again, Akko brought the sword around, cleaving through the ice like butter. Left and right the beasts were cut down, melted into mere water, crushed into powder. The squire felt invincible, her sheer determination being consumed like fuel for the burning blade.

One final thrust and the door was clear, fragments of ice and lukewarm puddles scattered at her feet."Quickly!" She called to the others cowering behind her. "Before any more come! We have to go now!"

Akko stepped outside into the snow, flaming sword slowly dying down in her hand, watching carefully for signs of any more ice beasts. As quickly as it came, the snowstorm had ceased completely, leaving only foreboding grey clouds to hang over her.

Surely such weather patterns couldn't be natural, but then again, Akko wasn't what was natural anymore.

Questions about the abnormality of storms could come later, right now she needed to lead these people to safety. "Alright everyone, we're headed towards Castle Manbavaran!" She explained, motioning them in the proper direction. "Without horses it may be a long walk, but once we get far enough away from here we can all rest."

Speaking of horses caused her thoughts to drift towards Knight Yanson. His distraction had worked well enough, though the plan wasn't complete until he returned. With a horse, he would be able to easily outrun any of the frozen beasts and catch up to them, so perhaps she should leave him behind.

_'Dammit old man, hurry it up.'_

**-oOo-**

For the next few minutes of walking it was deathly quiet, only the howling of wind and the occasional sniffle from the villagers. Akko's grip was tight on her sword, turning her knuckles white in anticipation of something that may or may not happen.

They were near the exit of the town now, where she last saw her horse a good hour or two ago. None of the chunks of ice were there, presumably having stood up and wandered off. Alternatively they may have been one of the many to be cut down by Claiomh Solais in its fiery fury.

"Akko!" One of her neighbours whisper-yelled, pointing towards the horizon. "Something's coming. A lot of somethings." He spoke true. Tiny dots in the distance were getting closer and closer at speed, the flat terrain of this part of the country giving an easy view despite how far away they were.

It was only after a minute of walking slowly towards the objects and staring hard that their shapes became identifiable. Armed men on horseback, their steel armour covered in frost from the high speed movement.

_'My horse...'_

Her scatterbrained plan had worked. Those were knights of The Crown, coming to her aid after seeing her frightened horse.

And there were so many. _'Her Highness must have been rather worried._' She thought with a flush, thanking the Nine for gifting such an unworthy soul with the princess' friendship.

"Knights from the castle." She explained to her group with exhausted glee. "Head towards them, I'll watch your back." Hearing of their salvation, many of the villagers broke out into a run, dashing towards the knights, cold be damned.

Turning around to watch for danger, Akko got the chance to really look at the ruins of her hometown. Doors were bashed in, windows shattered, heavy snowfall having caved in a few roofs. Home was gone now, the safety of her friends unknown.

She would have to wait for The Crown to do a full sweep to see who survived and who didn't. But even when they did, Akko wasn't sure she had the stomach to look at the list. How many friends and neighbours would be there?

_'And all of them would have been on that list too...'_ The squire pressed the back of her glove against her brow, closing her eyes and remembering their terrified expressions. Haya's face would certainly haunt her for weeks; that look of absolute devastation should never be on the face of someone so young.

_'But then the sword...'_ Claiomh Solais had burst into flames with her rage; without its power, the squire wasn't sure they would have made it.

Her brooding was interrupted by an approaching sound, in front of her instead of behind. Akko breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Knight Yanson, one hand holding tight to the reigns of his horse, the other desperately attempting to wiggle off the detached arm of an frozen villager.

"KAGARI!" He yelled, seeing the villagers safe and sound and the approaching knights. "WE'RE LEAVING! NOW!" His expression was wide eyed and serious, and looking behind him, Akko realized why.

All of the hordes he had pulled away from her, were still chasing him, albeit much slower than he could move. Mixed in with the villagers and golems, Akko saw ice beasts she had never seen before. White wolves that dove in and out of the snow like sharks, humanoid figures made entirely out of large icicles, the very air around the horde seeming hostile. It was enough to make any knight quake in their boots, and so that's what Akko did.

"Everybody move! We're out of here!" She yelled to the knights, sheathing her sword and tossing little Haya over her shoulders. With everyone who could run running, and everyone else on horseback, they vacated the village, moving as fast as possible away from the oncoming horde.

_'Chariot... Mamma... I hope you got away as well.'_

**-oOo-**

As soon as they were inside the outer walls of castle town, it seemed like the entire royal staff were on them, fussing over injuries and taking notes. Sir Yanson was debriefing the knights that had saved them, relaying all that he knew. Her father had been taken away to be looked at for brain trauma, leaving her to sit in the space next to the inner portcullis to twiddle her thumbs.

Haya sat next to her, kept busy as to not be overwhelmed by the whole ordeal. Akko had given her Claiomh Solais to look at, telling her all about it's previous wielder, and her own experiences with the mighty blade.

"Akko!" The squire looked up at a call of her name from far off and was rather shocked to see Her Highness sprinting down the road, royal guards trying to catch up to her. She seemed to have given them only tiny notice before bolting.

Atsuko stood, walking to meet her partway. Her Highness slid on the icy cobblestones, sliding straight into the squire's waiting arms.

"Akko..." She panted, grasping tightly to the owner of the name, looking her all over for any signs of injury. "Are you hurt? I...Your horse came back without you and..." Her hands flew up to Akko's face, feeling from her cheeks down her neck, to as many places as she could, not waiting for the squire's response.

"Your Highness, please." She cooed, grabbing the pale girl's wrists to stop her. "I'm perfectly alright. You ordered me to stay safe did you not?"

Her Highness' near hyperventilation slowed, dropping her forehead to rest against Atsuko's shoulder with a huff of a laugh. "I did, didn't I?"

"Squire Kagari." She spoke suddenly, voice muffled by Akko's shoulder. "I order thee to givest me a hug."

Akko nearly instantly wrapped her arms around the royal, squeezing tight. After all, who was she to disobey orders?


	6. A Home at the Top of the World

**-oOo-**

At the pleading requests of Her Highness' guards, their embrace was cut short in order to be moved to less open location. As she walked, both of Akko's arms were taken, her left elbow by Her Highness, her right hand by Haya. As the little girl's parents were nowhere to be found, Atsuko decided to just pull her along for the rest of the day until things calmed down.

Said raven haired child was absolutely starstruck, constantly looking up at Akko, then towards Her Highness and then back down to her feet with a wide smile. "So cool..." The squire heard her mumble to herself; flashes of herself as a child, staring wide eyed at Chariot from afar making her look away bashfully.

"She certainly idolizes you." The princess murmured, tugging on Akko's arm to make sure she was listening. "Perhaps with the right training, she too will become a spear of justice."

She chuckled then, hugging the elbow tighter. "But I'm getting ahead of myself." She began, glancing around the town at the various guardsmen fulfilling their duties, a calm yet teasing smile creeping across her lips. "You need to be an actual knight before you can even think about mentoring anyone."

One of the squire's cheeks puffed out, her eyebrows sinking low. "I'll have you know, Your Highness, I single-handedly dispatched at least eleven vile creatures on my recent excursion." She felt rather proud of herself for saving the lives of her fellow countrymen; not even a princess could soil that pride.

Princess Sucy barked disbelieving laugh, slipping back into the tongue of nobles. "Thine bluff is called, squire. I can believe one or two, not the fantastical tale thou spinest."

She was just about to retort in offense, but was beaten to it by an unlikely participant. "No! She did!" Haya assured the royal, picking up a nearby stick and swinging it like a sword. "She went- _Swoosh! Swish!_" Each onomatopoeia was accented by a swing of her stick. "_I am the shield of the innocent!_ And then the sword caught on fire and she slew all of the monsters!" A gross oversimplification, but it got the main points across.

As if only now realizing whom she was ranting too, Haya dropped her stick, hugging herself sheepishly. "Um... Your Highness..."

Sucy seemed rather surprised by the corroboration of the brunette's claims, visible eyebrow disappearing up into her hair. "This is true then?" She asked to anyone who would answer, chuckling when nods were all she received. "I suppose those training manuals were effective after all."

**-oOo-**

Though their original destination was simply a less public space, the girls found themselves far further, within the walls of Castle Manbavaran. The servants and guards lining the walls of the entryway bowed their heads as they passed by and the royal heir smiled warmly from her place at Akko's side.

"Your Highness." One of the servants spoke up, bowing a few metres ahead of them as to finish before she became an obstacle. As her head rose, the ginger girl began to walk alongside Her Highness, continuing the announcement. "His Majesty has called the Council of Lords for an emergency session. Your presence, as well as the presence of your companion, Miss Kagari, has been requested."

Princess Sucy moved her head up and down slowly, a thoughtful look sweeping across her face. "My thanks, Lotte. Thy father's testimony shalt be required as well, I take it?"

The servant- Lotte she was called -nodded, a tiny amount of visible apprehension at the mention of her father. "Yes, Your Highness. Both knights, as well as the rescue dispatch, shall relay what they saw. The few consolable survivors have already been questioned."

Akko let the information sink in, slipping around the gears that turned in her head. She figured some sort of testimony would be required, but in front of His Majesty? Her brain went into override, formulating the story she would tell in front of so many blue blooded nobles.

Her Highness squeezed the squire's arm subtly, a gesture of reassurance as the stressful situation bore down on her. "And how long until the honourable lords arrive? I would wish to look Miss Kagari over for wounds properly." Akko made a mental note to thank her for the constant lifelines.

"Hours, milady, such a sudden meeting will take time convene." A sweeter thing Akko's ears hadn't heard. She had time to prepare her testimony, to digest everything that had happened; time to talk quietly with the princess after such excitement.

Sucy hummed in agreement, tugging on Akko's arm to lead her around the right corner. "Very well, Miss Yanson. Retrieve me when the first lords arrive, I return to my room."

The girl's head bowed as her pace slowed, drifting backwards away from them, turning on her heels and zipping out of sight.

Leading the squire and her charge towards a spiraling staircase, the princess stopped, her lips pursed in thought. She suddenly spun a finger in the air, sky blue colour emanating from the tip making an odd bell-like noise as it reverberated off of the stone walls.

A pair of servants quickly rushed towards the sound, bowing low. "What is it you desire, milady?" The blonde one said, hands clasped at her chest.

The princess gestured to Haya, directing a friendly smile to the girl when she flashed an apprehensive look. "Give this child the full royal treatment and return her safely to me when thou'rt finished. Allow her whatever she requests."

Akko squeezed the girl's hand, releasing her grip to place a gentle hand among of her messy black strands. "Go on! You get to be a princess!" She assured, softly pushing Haya towards the servants, who each held out a hand for her to take.

"Come miss! We shall run a warm bath for you." The mention of anything warm made Haya leap towards the maids happily, grabbing each hand and pulling, desperately attempting to drag them away. They giggled, bowing their heads to Her Highness and leading the little girl away.

"Sweet girl, but she's too much like you. I can only handle so much." The princess teased, softly pulling the squire up a few steps. "Besides, I would prefer to have you all to myself." Atsuko felt a flush at the base of her neck, Knight Yanson's quip from earlier that day replaying in her head.

_'Damn it old man, don't you dare ruin this for me!'_

"Not many knights have had the pleasure of entering the crown princess' room before, even fewer suitors have seen the door." Sucy explained, giving the squire's face a once over, grinning wide at the apprehension evident in her eyes. "Yet here your are, as neither, leading this helpless girl up to her bed."

Akko gulped, imagining herself headless at His Majesty's hands. Even if this was by Her Highness' wishes, and a simple check up, she made it all sound so... _below board_. What were the servants gossiping about right this moment? Their purest Princess Sucy being seduced by some lowlife peasant?

"This is j-just about my wounds right?" She stuttered, struggling to keep the red from travelling further up her neck; Her Highness' bright toothy smile was making the increasingly difficult.

The royal cackled, lifting a hand to stroke Akko's chin. "Of course my clumsy little mouse, we have to make sure you've been following orders."

As she brought her hand back down to Akko's arm, the winding spiral staircase came to an end; Two rather rotund statues stood vigil next a rather nondescript wooden door, lit by only a single window. The princess tugged on her arm to stop her from continuing her pace. "Hang on there Romeo, you're not on the list."

The princess held out a hand, similar to a beggar on the street, deep purple glow surrounding her palm. Atsuko watched curiously as the two statues began to share the glow, their empty eye-sockets shining bright white alongside the princess' magic. A low hum filled the room and together the statues spoke.

**"We stand guard, Your Highness..."** Their voices were deep and slow, with a strange sound submerging their words, like two bricks rubbing together. It made Akko uneasy. **"What is it you desire...?"**

"Hello boys!" Sucy greeted kindly."This is Atsuko Kagari. She is a dear friend of mine and is allowed to come and go as she pleases." Akko's heart jumped at Her Highness' description of her. filling her chest with warmth and excitement. '_Dear friend! She thinks of me as her friend!'_

**"Yes, Your Highness... Atsuko Kagari added to white-list... Security level 4**..." With that, the lights in their eyes went out, and an unlocking noise came behind the door frame.

"A gift from my mother for my eighth birthday. Quite reliable as far as magical constructs go." Sucy explained offhandedly, dragging the squire into her room.

Akko wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting a crown princess' room to look like, but it probably surpassed anything she could have come up with.

The room consisted of the entire top of one of Castle Manbavaran's towers, split into two floors, each a half circle in shape. When the girls entered the room, the first thing Akko noticed were three massive windows that looked over Castle Town, the western forest where they first met, and mountain ranges miles off. Thick red curtains hung from each of the windows, ready to be pulled closed at any time if the room got too chilly or the princess wished for privacy.

In front of two of the windows were tables filled with flasks, beakers, liquid separators, and all the equipment of a town alchemist. The space in front of the rightmost window was taken instead by a finely crafted desk, gold accents worked into the wood.

The princess walked up the stairs on the left side of the room towards her bed, leaving the squire to take a closer look at all the bits and pieces of her room. "But don't snoop around at my desk!" The princess warned, removing her tiara and tousling her lovely pink hair. "Or I'll get my golems to crush you into paste!"

Atsuko made a complete U-turn away from her original destination- the desk -and wandered over to some of the bookshelves the princess had near the door. Books on medicine, alchemy, history, and literature lined most of the shelves, but a few fairy tales sprinkled in made the squire smile.

"What are you smirking at? Come up to the bed. I need to check you." Akko looked up to see the princess leaning over the railing, gorgeous puce locks flowing off her head like a waterfall. At this angle, the squire could barely see Her Highness' always hidden other eye; she couldn't see any scar or burn marks, only prompting more questions as too why it was always behind that pink veil.

She decided not to pry, obeying Her Highness' orders and making her way up to the second floor. She was just about to step onto the carpet when a flying tiara whacked her in the head, causing her to roll backward down the stairs, crashing in a heap at the bottom,

"Take off your boots first, you filthy peasant! You cant track dirt up here!" As Akko's vision stopped shifting, her eyes focused on the dancing colours above the room. Her Highness' ceiling was mainly taken up by a large set of interlocking magical circles, glowing in shades of an ever changing rainbow as they turned. Blues changed to greens, changed to yellows, changed to oranges, and so on.

"Are you alright?" Sucy's irritation had cooled off, and now her voice dripped with worry. "Did I kill you?"

Akko was tempted to play dead just to mess with the royal, but decided against it when an image of the princess crying broke her heart. "I live, Your Highness. Nothing you can't heal."

She heard a relieved sigh and smiled, rolling over to unlace her boots. "But please don't throw your crown next time, Your Highness. I do not want to be involved in the destruction of such an expensive item."

When her boots were finally off and her feet free, Akko left them at the bottom of the stairs and attempted the trip upward again, picking up the princess' tiara on the way.

Princess Sucy had lit a fire and abandoned her cloak on the carpet, now sitting on her bed, legs tucked to the side, in a simple white silk gown. With her tiara, her fancy dress, and elaborate fur cloak gone; Her Highness looked like any other girl, relaxing after a day of excitement.

"Come." The princess beckoned, patting the space beside her on the bed. "Take off your caplet and anything else uncomfortable. It will be much easier to feel for injuries when you're relaxed."

Though undressing in front of a princess was never something the squire ever imagined doing, but here they were. She unfastened the fabric at her neck, letting it flutter off of her shoulders to rest next to the princess' cloak before getting to work on the various leather straps attached to her. Claiomh Solais was unstrapped from her side first and offered towards the princess, who set it in her lap carefully.

Her gloves were a little more difficult to remove, a combination of the awful climbing and her steel grip on Claiomh Solais stiffening her fingers from overuse. The squire saw how Her Highness watched her struggle, how her eyes zeroed in on locked joints and tense muscles. This wasn't just about making her comfortable, the princess was watching her move, keeping an eye out for sub optimal alignment or strain on Akko's face when a bone shifted.

She felt like a lab rat.

At long last, all of the squire's gear lay strewn on the floor, leaving her in only a tunic and trousers. Sucy patted the bed again, taking Akko's hand when she came near. "Lay down." She ordered, beginning to gently massage the squire's joints, a faint pink glow soothing every muscle fibre her fingers drifted across.

"The tendons in these fingers have been put under considerable strain. You were gripping something very hard." Atsuko always found wonder in Her Highness' touch, listening in awe as the young royal relayed the squire's own journey back to her simply by having her body under her fingers.

"I have not been told much..." She started, taking moment to choose her words carefully, lest her beloved patient become wracked with unwanted memories. "Is your family safe?"

The brunette closed her eyes and nodded, breathing deep as Her highness often commanded her too when she healed. "My father is safe in the town below, but he may have some form of brain trauma."

"Mom is..." Akko trailed off, lifting her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "She's with Knight Chariot, but we don't know where she is other than that."

A squeeze to her knuckles brought the squire's hand back down to her side, Her Highness offering a small smile of reassurance when their eyes met. "Chariot is a skilled knight of The Crown, I am sure she will bring your mother home soon."

She hummed in agreement, settling them into a comfortable quiet while the princess shifted her focus to the next finger.

"What are those rings about?" Her free hand lifted to point straight up at the ceiling, and Sucy had to crane her neck at an odd angle to see what she meant.

"Ah, those." She stated simply, sighing in nostalgia. "Another one of my mother's gifts, this one was shortly after I was born, a magical mobile if you will." Her Highness laid down next to the squire while spoke, still keeping her hand captive.

The more Akko watched the circles twirl and interlock, the deeper she seemed to go into a sort of sleepy trance. "It's beautiful..."

Princess Sucy looked up as well, watching the same circles she had watched every night for close to two decades, and puffed half a lungful through her nose. "I suppose... But after so many years it becomes just another thing in your room, like a carpet or bedside table."

She turned her gaze when the bed shifted, to see Atsuko laying on her side and smiling at her. The brunette's eyes were bright, her smile warmer than the roaring fireplace at their feet. "Maybe someday I can take you out of the castle to see something else beautiful, something new."

The idea of just leaving it all behind for a day, enjoying the sights with someone who cared about her, caused Sucy to close her eyes, her own lips widening to match the sunbeam across the pillow from her.

"I would like that."


	7. Discord

**-oOo-**

"I'm nervous, Your Highness." Akko admitted, breaking a comfortable silence that had persisted for multiple minutes. Her Highness shifted on the bed, turning towards the squire, a fist pressed against the side of her head.

"Your d- His Majesty." She continued, correcting herself from calling the Chosen of The Nine just 'your dad.' "It's a scary scenario, talking directly to him and a room full of nobles; what if I am accidentally disrespectful?"

Akko's fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, imagining all those judging eyes on her, their noses upturned.

The princess' eyes were understanding, her smile kind. "My father thinks highly of you, and I shall be at his side as a reminder of why. You have nothing to fear."

"The nobles however..." Her expression drooped into something more spiteful, disgusted. "There are a few that must still learn to hold their tongue." Tensions between blue bloods was to be expected, but the squire sensed a personal disdain bubbling in her words.

Her Highness sat up further, resting on an elbow and looking down towards the fire. "Though they are important tools of our kingdom's rule, I am it's heir." Embers danced in the reflection of her eyes, flames of past conquerors burning in her blood. "They will speak respectfully in our presence, or be crushed."

The next hour was spent in that bed, discussing Atsuko's inevitable testimony. She had relayed the whole story: from the initial quiet of the village, to Sir Yanson's routing of the horde, to her stand against it's remnants.

Her Highness's full attention was on every single word, the scenes forming as moving images inside her head. She pictured Squire Kagari, angry and full of adrenaline, slicing down foe after foe with her flaming sword. It honestly made her heart beat faster, struggling as a younger part of her wanted to swoon at such bravery.

As she listened, other images began to appear in her head, of the squire's frozen and lifeless body, of her subsequent raise by this enemy. She imagined sobbing over Akko's dead body, her rescue dispatch arriving too late. It all felt too real, her overactive imagination tormenting her with lifelike visions.

"Your Highness?" The squire questioned, concern dripping from every syllable. "Did I say something wrong?"

The princess was confused for a moment, until a droplet of water splashed against her leg.

She was crying.

"N-No nothing wrong." She stuttered, angrily blushing at her own weakness. Akko needed support and advice before her testimony was due, she didn't need some spoiled blue blood crying on her.

Her Highness sniffed, shaking her head and smiling warmly. "I'm just really glad you obeyed me. You've stumbled through some ridiculous messes." Akko was okay, she survived with not a scratch; the princess had made sure of that. She could 'what if' all day, but it would forever amount to absolutely nothing.

"I'm glad i'm okay too! You really saved our butts with those knights." Akko laughed, trying her very best to lighten up the mood. She reached out, squeezing Her Highness' hand like the princess often did for her, wiping the tears from her eyes.

**"Unknown visitor... begone from this place... Her Highness must not be disturbed..."** The pottery-esque voices of Her Highness' guards echoed throughout the room, artificially louder to alert Her Highness of any intruders.

She removed her hand from beneath the squire's grip, igniting it with purple light. Her eyes glowed with violet, glazing over as if seeing something else. Her face twitched in surprise, curling her hand in a dismissive way. "Let them through boys!"

**"Acknowledged..."** A click rang out from beneath them, mighty wooden door swinging open. Akko turned to the bedside table where Her Highness' tiara sat safely, picking it up with both hands and placing it upon the princess' head when she craned her head forward expectantly.

"Thank you very much, dear servant." She teased, shuffling to the edge of the bed to retrieve her cloak. "Perhaps you could find better use as my personal maid."

Though it was a joking jab at her squire status, Akko found the idea of serving the princess rather pleasing. Her ideal way of serving was as a knight, protecting the innocent, but being constantly by Her Highness' side wasn't a bad gig either.

Little Haya bounced up the stairs, her hair done up in a french braid, donning a rather fancy nightdress. Miss Lotte followed close behind, bowing respectfully when she reached the top.

"Your Highness, the child has been washed, fed, dressed, and brushed as you requested. I would also like to inform you that house Cavendish and Hanbridge have arrived." Akko barely remembered Her Highness asking for that reminder, but clearly the servant had. _'Impressive.'_

Akko stood up to greet the little raven haired child, kneeling down as the girl showed off her new dress.

"Duchess Cavendish could not make it due to illness." Lotte continued, her hand grasping a wrist politely. "Her eldest shall be taking the seat this evening."

Her Highness nodded, shuffling into her shoes and wandering over to her wardrobe. "Many thanks, Miss Yanson. Has my father been down to greet them?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The servant answered, stifling a giggle as she watched the squire lift Haya up onto her shoulders; walking over the window to show her the view. "He has requested to speak with you before the rest of the council arrives."

Ducking in and out of her bathroom within seconds in an entirely different dress, Her Highness took a brush to her hair, tugging through the few worried tangles that had formed that afternoon. "Then please take Miss Haya to a suitable guest room, perhaps read a story or two."

Leaving the brush on the bed, Her Highness' hands disappeared within the dress' billowing sleeves. "Retrieve thine footwear, Miss Kagari, we are off to find thee a suitable outfit."

**-oOo-**

And find she did. It was perfect; fancy without looking too expensive, comfy while still being respectable. "Ah, surely they will all cry your name; swoon at your very presence." The princess teased, making the final adjustments to Akko's collar and wristcuffs.

"Now remember what we talked about, yes? My lord, My lady; a partial bow while regarding them."

On the walk Her Highness went over proper etiquette while speaking to the lords. She discussed respectful gestures that would prevent the nobles from interrupting the testimony, all the while clinging on to her favourite arm.

But alas all good things must come to an end, and all council-rooms one must always eventually arrive at.

The squire wanted to keep walking alongside Her Highness, follow her to the ends of the earth, but acquiesced. "This is where we must part ways for now, Your Highness." She said sadly, bowing low.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The princess teased, stopping Akko from opening the door and offering a hand.

"Oh! Of course, my liege." She knew exactly what to do, taking the lovely pale appendage with one of her own and laying two gentle kisses on the royal's knuckles.

And now here she was, sitting next to the other knights in a room full of blue bloods. The room was loud, rumbling voices arguing amidst one another or discussing the attack.

"How could an enemy force just drop out of the sky? No other towns have been attacked." One questioned, rolling her eyes.

"I swear, the king is getting senile." Another whispered.

If she wasn't literally nobody compared to everyone else in the room, the squire would have spoken out, yelled at them for disrespecting His Majesty.

But she didn't, sitting in the loud room with a blank expression.

"Honourable lords of the council; brave knights of The Crown!" A well used elderly voice broke through the roars of nobles. "Please rise and bow your heads low."

Atsuko inwardly praised the Nine for an end to the noise, doing as instructed; bowing at the waist, a hand against her heart in respect.

Once the room was silent as could be, the servant continued. "I present His Royal Majesty, King Ataas Manbavaran! And the sole heir to his crown, Princess Sucy Manbavaran!"

Two pairs of footsteps echoed through the room, a heavier and lighter pair. The chosen of The Nine took his place upon the most ornate seat, a lesser throne at his right filled by Her Highness.

"Raise thy gazes, most loyal of knights; highest of nobles. We have much to discuss." His Majesty's smooth earthy voice reverberated off the walls of the council chamber, vibrating against Akko's eardrums.

She had seen the king a few times in hand drawn pictures within books; in higher quality artwork within the castle, but never in person.

His skin was a rich caramel, worn by decades of stressful rule; and like his daughter, only a single deep red eye was visible. The other eye was hidden behind an elaborate silk patch, embroidered with golden thread. A black goatee surrounded his sharp square chin, almost completely filled with grey, far shorter than Sir Yanson's mighty orange whiskers, but easily as well kept.

A magnificent crown of gold sat upon his head, nine different coloured gemstones adorning each spiked prong, while countless diamonds and furnishings filled the artifact to bursting with detail. The raw worth of such an item was absolutely baffling, not to even mention it's worth as a symbol of rule.

The king looked around the room silently for a few moments as everyone shuffled and got comfortable. His gaze fell on Akko, causing her to audibly gulp and clench her jaw in fear.

Keeping an eye on the young squire, His Majesty leaned towards his daughter, murmuring something to which she nodded happily. A warm smile was then sent her way from both royals and she awkwardly returned it, scratching deep into her arm with anxiety.

"If thou'rt all ready to begin?" His Majesty's voice raised once more, the seriousness of the events at hand hardening his face. "This council has convened in response to an unprovoked attack on the village of Torinosu by an unknown enemy."

Akko's eyes scanned across the room, seeing many nobles squirm in their seats, rumors and fears proven true by the king's words. Nearing the back corner of the room, her gaze landed on one who seemed very out of place.

A young lady no older than sixteen -sat stonefaced, eyes closed as she listened carefully to His Majesty; a moment's pause allowed the squire to remember Lotte's previous words. The eldest child of Duchess Cavendish, filling in for her sickly mother.

"There is little we know of this force, save for the sudden and swift destruction it can bring, but villagers rescued by knights present, have relayed what they could. Captain Hanbridge shall read out the relevant information."

A taller gentleman, donned in an ornate suit of plate mail, stepped forward. His face was rather youthful- only a few years older than herself -yet hardened by experience and knowledge, it was clear they were in completely different leagues.

"At between 9:30 and 10:00 this morning it began snowing over Torinosu, and at between 9:50 and 10:05 this light downfall intensified to a full blizzard." Akko's ears piqued at the mention of such a harsh storm; she had been awake at that time, sitting with Her Highness; there had been a storm billowing outside, but nothing strong enough to be called a blizzard.

"It was then that a local father, swiftly returning home to avoid the cold, claims to have seen this creature walking through the fog." Captain Hanbridge then took a piece of parchment from his pile and handed it to Her Highness, where it burst into green flame.

A lingering scent of apples tickled Atsuko's nose as the flammable parchment crumbled to ashes in her hands. The smell got stronger as she gently blew, guiding the ashes towards the centre of the room where they reformed into a much larger image.

It was a hand drawn sketch, though very purposeful in every stroke; Mr Norihiko knew what he was drawing.

_'You know... the big one...'_

The creature seemed vaguely humanoid in appearance, standing on two legs and with articulated fingers, but it was clear this thing was far from human. Akko's attention was immediately drawn to the_ eyes_, ten of them, shown as black dots and arranged in a very specific pattern, an arrow with a smaller head halfway down.

It's legs seemed to end in squarish blocks, like the hooves of a horse, only far thicker; tree trunks in comparison. And finally, protruding from it's head were three gnarled, nearly triangular shapes, like some mockery of a king's crown.

Gauging the crowd's reaction, Sir Hanbridge continued, hard emerald eyes returning to the parchment. "Very shortly thereafter, scores of unsightly beasts began flowing out of the forest from that same direction, taking the town by surprise."

"Furthermore!" He added, rolling up the report and scanning his eyes over the council-room. "The creature personally entered the village while surviving citizens attempted to flee, resulting in the surviving populous becoming split into two: those who were rescued and now reside safe within Castle Town, and those who fled further west alongside Knight Chariot."

The squire could feel Her Highness' empathetic eyes on her, sending as much support as she could from a position of such responsibility. Their eyes met for a moment, but Akko looked away, focusing her attention on the finely crafted flooring of the council-room.

"As of yet, this second group has not been located. No village west of Torinosu has reported sightings."

His Majesty brought a hand to his chin, scratching in thought. "Thank you Captain, thou mayst return to thy seat."

"Though more testimony is required and shalt be heard this day, the seriousness of such an invasion must not be understated." An enemy that seemed to be able to attack at any time, at any place, without any visible mobilization or signs of it's approach other than a snowstorm, which were many during such a winter.

"No longer can we treat winter as a time of leisure or safety from invading forces. I beseech thee all to defend the settlements under thine control."

It finally came time for the knights to relay what they saw to the council, to share any insights on combating this new force. Atsuko found that as more of the rescue dispatch spoke, she felt less and less intimidated by the prospect of her own testimony; this was important to the safety of everyone she knew and loved.

Knight Yanson stepped up to the stand finally, saluting with fervour to His Majesty before bringing his hands down on the wood, gripping it tightly.

"We all knew. Every single one of us knew it was different this time." His head shook left and right as he mumbled, eyes looking somewhere far off, looking back at the village, at the horde that had chased him endlessly.

"Men of frost, pulled back from the pit of death to drag others down with them. Constructs of pure ice, moving and swinging weapons like a mortal man would do." There were murmurs from the council, whispers of 'How can that be', whispers of 'By the Nine', whispers of 'Nonsense'. Akko had to seriously struggle against her instincts to not scrunch her face in irritation at that last one.

"I have seen the very wind coalesce into a hostile being and swipe at my neck, thirsting for blood. Honourable Lords, there can be no denying the dangers here; for if we do, this entire kingdom shall be buried in ice." His words brought scowls to the faces of many nobles, fear to others, though both of the younger nobles showed no sign of emoting.

"Highest lords of the council, allow me to begin."

"I journeyed to Torinosu alongside Squire Kagari at the request of Her Royal Highness, but when we entered the town, it was empty, destroyed, and deathly quiet."

Sir Yanson proceeded to recount their tale up until the moment of their split up; the frozen old woman, the golems, Chariot's estate, all of it in exact detail. The knight's eyes were wide- haunted -as he continued, images of the bloodthirsty horde perusing him through the streets with unrelenting ferocity and determination.

"The icicle men as I called them, they carry large javelins or spears that can be launched at a large distance. I narrowly avoided getting skewered while on horseback. They are exceptionally accurate." The limited yet high intelligence of these creatures is what disturbed the squire, Sir Yanson reported witnessing an icicle man disassemble itself to supply more spears to throw.

"My final point, highest of nobles, Your Majesty, is that this force is not mindless; they are not mere animals or beasts. This force is clever, organized, and incredibly dangerous."

He bowed low, saluting to His Majesty before returning to his seat.

The King's forehead creased as his eyes glazed, absorbing the new information and letting it marinate within his grey matter. "Captain." He spoke up, raising a hand. "Retrieve a copy of Sir Yanson's testimony after this meeting concludes and relay the relevant combat information to the rest of my knights."

Captain Hanbridge nodded in a sitting bow, whispering orders to the servants at his side.

"Squire Kagari, if thou wouldst." His Majesty's voice speaking her name caused a deathly chill to run up the brunette's spine. She raised her gaze slowly from the floor, fear receding slightly at both royal's warm smiles. "My daughter tells me it is quite a tale."

"Y-Ye-" She stuttered, coughing once she regained her backbone. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Fighting back against the weight of so many eyes bearing down on her, Akko calmly stepped up to the stand, taking a deep breath.

"Highest of nobles, Your Majesty. I am Atsuko Kagari, and Torinosu was my home."


	8. Shield

**-oOo-**

Reliving those hours for the third time made Atsuko feel numb. With excruciating detail she went over the entire excursion, going over combat information on the two enemy types Sir Yanson didn't have adequate experience with.

Those dark sunken pits that sweet old lady had instead of eyes haunted the squire, and she nearly choked up while giving a detailed description. The pale purple tinted skin, the ice growing out of her neck, and her voice.

_"It's so cold..."_

Akko had to take a second to steady her breathing, closing her eyes and filling her lungs with the warm air of the castle. '_Think of the princess. Think of Haya. You're almost done.'_

"There is a severe weakness to range; anything above an arms-length." She explained, remembering how simple it was to kick the villagers away. "I would recommend spears or pole-arms to abuse this as much as possible."

The golems were much easier to talk about, simple constructs of ice and snow; immense strength but lacking in dexterity. Most weapons would be ineffective as, for all intents and purposes, the creatures were made of stone.

"Captain Hanbridge, if I may ask?" The squire questioned, looking over to to the armoured gentleman.

His green eyes locked with hers and he stood, one forearm behind, one in front. "Yes Miss Kagari, fire away."

"The spikes on the ends of royal war hammers, they're used to pierce armour right?" With the right baiting maneuvers, the knights could have enough time for a full swing; how much damage that would do remained to be seen.

He seemed to pick up on her line of thinking, slowly nodding up and down. "Yes, with an adequate swing the pointed beak pierces 2-3 milimetres of steel plate. We shall test impacts against stone of varying hardness."

The captain was quick, able to infer her inner thoughts from every spoken word surrounding the silence. It was a little bit weird, but at least she would get to talk less.

Her testimony continued uninterrupted throughout the rest of the tale; for the third time she drove her horse away and towards the castle, searched for Chariot, snuck around the side of a house. All the while, His Majesty nodded along, rubbing his index finger and thumb together slowly.

When she walked through her encounter inside the shack, the topic of the beast came up again. "They said it was more interested in Knight Chariot, and actively chased her and the others west."

"Thoust worked beneath Lady Chariot, correct?" The king verified, shifting in his throne to rest on an elbow. "Art thou aware of any deeds that may have caused this..." He struggled for the word. "...Favouritism?"

For as long as Akko could remember Knight Chariot had been her symbol of honour and bravery, the defender of the innocent; slayer of evil. It had never occurred to her what evil's cousins had to say about all the slaying.

"Not specifically, Your Majesty. Lady Chariot defeated all manner of beast and villain, there are endless possible reasons."

Thinking back on her time with the good knightess, she was rather vague when talking about the past; sticking to a rather fanciful fairy tale that Akko had eventually grown out of believing.

"We shall mull over this at a later date. Please continue."

The story came to a close with a recount of her stand against the frozen ones. The squire spoke unflinchingly as she told of the fire, the devastating force of Claimoh Solais against the ice, how it responded to her desire to defend.

"A question, Your Majesty?" A circumstance that had a near 100% chance of happening still caused the squire to flinch. One of the noblemen had finally worked up the courage to raise their voice and in doing so angered the viper at King Ataas' side.

"For myself, Duke Krilgore? Or for Miss Kagari." Attempting to calm his furious daughter with a soothing hand to the back of hers, the king patiently addressed the lord.

"For the squire, Your Majesty. I wish to know how she got her hands on such a powerful and valuable artifact." Akko raised a brow at the duke's words. Claimoh Solais was Chariot's sword, passed to her by her own master. There had never been any indication of it holding worth to anyone other than the occasional blacksmith who questioned its seemingly infinite ability to be sharpened.

"I am squire to Knight Chariot, I was running errands." She explained, though the stares from the crowd forced her to elaborate further.

"I was given the task of having it sharpened before all this went down. I still have it h-" But her hip was devoid of any such weapon.

"Oh." She remembered. "I left it in Her Highness' room."

Murmurs filled the council-room, gasps and whispers pressing down on Akko's spine and filling her with immediate regret.

"And pray tell, how a lowly squire finds herself within Her Royal Highness' bedchamber?" Lord Krilgore's nose turned leftward, eyes locking onto the back of the brunette's head as she avoided his gaze.

"B-By being her friend, my Lord?" Akko's nervous stutter did very little to reduce the weight suffocating her more and more by the minute.

"Her Highness has more important duties than being friends with a mere peasant."

Akko bowed her head towards him as the princess suggested, attempting to diffuse the situation without her intervening. "I would agree, my Lord, but the wishes of royalty are above us all."

Her answer seemed to silence the vocal minority, bringing the rumble of voices down to a few whispers. Eventually Krilgore himself took a seat, feeling his throat begin to tighten as deadly magic emanated from Her Highness in waves.

"If there are no more questions from the council, I believe we should save further discussions for a later date; at an earlier time." His Majesty, knowing the chaos his daughter could and would release, hastily closed out the joint session.

"Beware the storm honourable lords. Captain Hanbridge shall be visiting many of you in the coming weeks to plan defenses personally." Servants rushed in between and around nobles, gathering copies of records for each of their lords. It seemed like a stressful and grading job, very different from work at the castle; the servants Akko had seen always looked genuinely happy with their work, honoured to be serving the Chosen.

She honestly understood the sentiment.

"Now if you would, I wish to speak with Miss Kagari."

_'What.'_

Generally annoyed at being told to bugger off but afraid of sparking the cooling princess into another rage, the nobles bowed in sync and vacated the room, flooding away like mice. Akko's eyes caught the eldest of house Cavendish squinting at her but quickly looked back down to the floor.

She apparently had bigger fish.

Once the chamber had emptied out, the two royals stood, smiling kindly in her direction. Her Highness, without a trace of her previous seething venom, glided over to her side, offering out a hand and wiggling her fingers in anticipation.

"You did well." She praised, though the edge of her lip curled up in a smirk. "I'm always glad to be proven wrong when it comes to your competence."

Being alone in a room with the head of a nation was less than stress-less, but the princess' careful grip comforted her enough that the urge to run away was overpowered.

"Squire Kagari." His Majesty's powerful voice rang clear in the empty council chamber, bouncing off of multiple curved pieces of architecture and into her ears.

"Thou hast done much for My kingdom, all by thine own volition." His gaze wandered upwards towards the elaborate mural decorating the chamber ceiling, and Akko did the same.

She saw an androgynous figure kneeling before nine great beings, an orb of differing colours in the hands of each. They seemed to be offering the orbs to the figure below, while the creatures and people around the raised platform bowed down in reverence.

The Chosen of the Nine looked down again, continuing to speak directly to her.

"My dearest daughter, innocent civilians, her band of defenders, thou took up the sword for each of them without delay and without orders."

"Seeing as thou art..." There was a pause as King Ataas mulled over the correct word choice. "...Out of a job for the time being..."

The squire's eyes widened as she recognized His Majesty's thought process. Looking over to Her Highness, she found a single red eye looking back at her, twinkling with an uncertain emotion.

_"He has requested to speak with you before the rest of the council arrives."_

So this was it then. Behind closed doors, the Manbavaran Line conspired to indoctrinate her into their service.

"I believe a position within the castle is feasible." The king looked at her with a serious and regal expression, though it slowly crumbled into a grin of shark teeth.

At the squire's side, Princess Sucy shifted closer, morphing the grip on Akko's hand into the usual hug on her bicep.

"And in this most dangerous of winters..." His Majesty continued, meeting eyes with his daughter. "I would, as a father and king, wish for Sucy to have more constant protection."

Akko's heart skipped a beat, her eyebrows disappearing up into her bangs. Her ears must have been malfunctioning. '_Is His Majesty really suggesting...?'_

"Thou hast proven yourself more than capable of protecting others, and the number of people she allows inside her bedchamber can be counted on one hand." His Majesty _was_ suggesting.

Her Highness looked away from her father's knowing eyes, focusing on the remains of Mr. Norihiko's drawing with a scowl. The cute bashfulness of the move almost made the squire forget herself. Almost.

"What would thou sayest to becoming a Shield of The Crown?"

It was everything she's ever wanted and many times more.

Surprising the princess with her sudden jerk downwards into a deep bow, Akko's brain started to break down. "Your Majesty... I- I'd love- I would be honoured... I..."

Her Highness took three steps back to stand in the centre of the room; returning the squire's questioning look with another nervous yet reassuring smile.

"Then genuflect before Us, Atsuko Kagari."

Akko knelt down, bowing her head as commanded. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears, blood pumping quickly through her veins. Defending the heir to Luna as a knight of The Crown. Her dream come true. It was happening.

"Atsuko Kagari." His Majesty began, voice seemingly coming from all around her. "Do you pledge yourself to the defense of Luna? To her next queen?"

"I do, Your Majesty." She replied without question.

"Will you submit your life in the protection of hers?"

"I will." She declared, looking up and meeting Her Highness's gaze directly. A faint pink blush stained the royal's cheeks, her eyes wide in awe.

"Will you fight until your final breath, and then years beyond? Destroying any and all that wish her harm?"

"I will." She looked deep within the princess's face, making her devotion crystal clear. This was her choice. She wanted this and would not have the princess feel guilty about roping her into anything.

His Majesty's eye began glowing blue, embers like the sky dancing from his fingers. "Then by the power vested in me by the Nine, I bind thee to this oath."

With a clap of his hands, a flaming sword of blue materialized from between them, expanding to it's full glory as the palms separated.

"I name thee, Atsuko Kagari, Shield of the Princess!"

The massive burning blade came down upon them both, slicing deep within their bodies yet doing no damage. The newly appointed shield grabbed her chest, feeling the fires burn in her heart; looking up at the princess made them grow larger, a searing need obstructing her mind with a single thought.

**Protect.**

**Defend.**

Her Highness was the most important thing in the room, a priceless treasure that she would die for.

The princess took a few steps forward until she was once again directly next to her defender. Atsuko was the one to outstretch a hand first, a silent demand for Her Highness' own.

It was immediately brought to the brunette's lips. Two kisses and then a pause, where gentle breaths blew against the pale skin, followed by three more pecks.

"I am your sword and shield, Your Highness. Your wish is my command."

Princess Sucy looked away bashfully, pulling her hand away as a blush returned full force. "Get up you idiot, we're going to go check on the kid."

"Before thou goest.." The king spoke, looking Akko directly in the eyes. "Find thy way to the knight's quarter come morning, Defender Kagari."

"You shall train each and every morning and become a unmatched with the sword." King Ataas' face became stony, taking a moment to nail in that this was a demand; an order. "Am I understood?"

"Yes Your Majesty!" Akko saluted with fervor, renewed determination pumping through her.

The king smiled at them, maneuvering back to where he had originally walked out from at the beginning of the meeting. "Then I shall be off! Sweetest dreams, my child!"

"Bye Dad!" Her Highness moved past her new defender, pushing the girl in the direction of the exit before leaving her behind to walk ahead.

"Goodnight, Your Majesty!" Akko called to the king, turning to follow his daughter out the door.

But as Akko was about to cross the threshold, she looked back, upwards at the ceiling. The mural was still there, hanging over the empty room; the same nine deities, the same figure, the same hill they stood upon. The squire turned defender had noticed something originally but thought it stupid at the time.

The way the crowd stood around the hill.

It almost looked like a mouth. And teeth.

_'Nah... Still stupid.'_

**-oOo-**

It didn't take long to catch up to the princess, as she hated exerting herself when not necessary.

"Your Highness!" Akko called out, sliding to a stop at her side and offering out an elbow. "Please do not run off without me, His Majesty trusts me to keep you safe."

Sucy took the arm gladly, continuing to walk at the same pace, now with something to hold onto. "You can run pretty fast." She stated simply. "Good. When I call, you must be there."

"I don't plan on leaving your side often, Your Highness." Truth be told, she knew exactly 5 people in the entire castle, and two of them were royalty. There wasn't much else to do than hang around the princess and train.

An identical shark toothed grin as the king was the response. "Come now, Atsuko, at least try to play hard to get." Her Highness teased. "Or have you always been this easy?"

"I don't believe anyone in the kingdom would appreciate me 'playing hard to get' with their princess." The insinuation flushed the defender's cheeks, though she tried to keep a straight face. "Especially the nobles."

Dark pressure pulsed against Akko's left cheek, and she knew before her head even turned what Her Highness was thinking.

"Yes I noticed." She spat, her grip on the brunette's bicep becoming a little to tight for comfort.

"Ah- but it's alright Your Highness, I take no offense." It became of paramount importance that Her Highness be calmed down, lest the defender loose her arm. "You're the princess! What you want is-"

"I was going to kill him." Sucy interrupted. "I wanted to, but you talked him down first."

Akko felt a bead of sweat forming on her hairline. "Ah- yes Your Highness, I didn't want you to raise a finger for my sake."

"Then you would kill him for me if I asked?"

She clammed up, her oath coming back to bite her so soon after taking it. Her mouth opened and closed in an attempt to spit out an answer. "O-Of course, Your Highness. But I- My duty is to protect you first- I wouldn't leave you- uh."

"Relax dear defender, I only tease." The royal's impish smile turned warm, but Akko's heart told her that was only a half truth.

Her Highness' finger went up into the air, the very tip glowing blue like earlier that day; the same blue as the king's giant sword. Her eyes glowed the same as they always did when the royal saw things others could not.

"The room is this way." She said suddenly, pulling on the brunette's arm to change their course by 90 degrees.

And it was.

Creaking open the door, they found two people sleeping inside a moderately size two bed room. Haya was tucked in all the way to her chin, breathing quietly; beside her was the servant girl Lotte, leaning against the side of the bed with her face in a picture book, fast asleep.

"I would tell her off for sleeping on the job, but I didn't exactly order her to stay awake." The princess mused, tiptoeing over towards the girl to kneel beside her.

She then reached down and flicked Lotte in the ear.

"Ow! Who-" The servant's face immediately drained of colour when she realized who the perpetrator was.

"Your Highness!" She jumped up to standing, bowing low but keeping her voice to a whisper. "The child has been put to sleep as requested! Without any further orders I must have dozed off! Please forgive me!"

Princess Sucy grinned, each interlocking tooth shimmering in the moonlight. "Go home Miss Yanson. Thou hast served me well this day."

"W-What? Are you sure?" She seemed shocked, forgetting her place for a second. "I mean- T-Thank you Your Highness! I will return in the morning!"

"Arrive in time to wake me up. That is all I ask." Her Highness' eyes were starting to slip closed and she seemed to be holding in a yawn.

Lotte nodded at least four times, rushing to the door and giving another deep bow. "Good night Your Highness, Lady Kagari."

And then there were three.

"Goodnight, Akko."

Or two?

"Your Highness!" She called a little louder than intentional, making Haya roll over to her side, but still asleep. The princess had her hand on the door-frame, in the middle stepping out into the hallway.

"What? Unless you wish to sleep with me, this is where we part ways for the night." The jab made Akko's blush, which she had only barely cooled down from, return full force.

"Y-Yes! I-I mean no! Uh..." The defender was beginning to get the impression Her Highness enjoyed her suffering.

"I should walk you to your room! I wouldn't want anyone to sneak up on you in the dark." Her recently ignited blue flame hummed in agreement, flaring up slightly.

The pale royal chuckled, her lidded eyes beginning to glow blue. "Please. This is my castle, no one can hide from me."

Then without another word, she disappeared.


	9. Lilies

**-oOo-**

The overcast sky was just pushing into an icy blue when Akko left her room, the cobblestones slippery from last night's subzero temperatures. Frost still nipped at her nose with sinister bites as she rounded the corner through the archway into the knight's quarter.

Following the directions that were left for her, the defender entered into a square courtyard, high walls of the garrison blocking the constant gale from hitting her face. The grass was smothered under at least a foot of snow, though some patches were still visible in places where steel greaves crushed through the shell of ice.

Various areas of the courtyard were sectioned off with circles of stone obelisks, stone statues of armoured knights placed in the centre. '_Some sort of memorial maybe?_' She guessed, taking special attention to the seams and cracks near the neck and joints. '_Perhaps not.'_

Scanning over the rest of the space brought her attention to others that had already arrived. A redheaded female knight stood in the snow, flakes building up on the shoulders of her briggane as she watched two others spar.

Actually taking a proper look at the match's participants, it was clear that one of them was was not of flesh and blood. A familiar purple fire burned within the suit of stone armour, guiding the fluid movement of its dull practice sword.

Parrying with a slight give, a blonde man with quite fluffy hair planted his feet hard into the ground, pushing back. His blows clanged against opposing steel, grappling with the construct for dominance.

"Don't let that hunk of rock push you around, Frank! Kick his ass!" His presumed instructor barked with gusto, evidently not worried about waking anyone up so early in the morning.

Akko's boots crunching in the snow alerted the knight to her presence, and she turned her head slightly over her shoulder, keeping the rest of her body straight. "You're here early."

"Her Highness tells me punctuality is a virtue." Akko responded, not surprised that her arrival was sent ahead.

The redhead turned fully to greet her, green eyes meeting her own rubies. Her deep orange hair was brushed back over her head, easily mistakable for a great burning fireball, the few flakes of ice notwithstanding.

One hand resting casually on the hilt of the longsword at her hip, the instructor held out a gloved hand, grinning. "Swordmaster Amanda O'Neill. I hear you're some kind of badass? 'Must be to catch the eye of the princess!"

Akko held out her hand to reciprocate the handshake, inwardly cringing at the amount her reputation had blown out of proportion. "Atsuko Kagari, I'm the new shield."

"Oh I know who you are, the news spread quickly 'round here." Amanda grinned, dropping her hand back down to her side. "A lot of the boys in the barracks are pretty salty about some nobody getting the job."

The defender's anxiety spiked; it was clear from the start that she didn't belong here, and now there was the added worry of someone saying it out loud. A visible cringe grew across her cheeks.

Swordmaster O'Neill ignored the defender's discomfort, turning to look up towards Her Highness' tower. "But nobody who values their life is going to tell the royals that."

Images of Princess Sucy sprang to mind; the shadows covering her only visible eye, the way she grit her razor sharp teeth violently, the pulses of magic surging from her body making each present soul recoil in fear.

"Hey, if Yanson vouches for you..." Amanda began, breaking the stagnant pause. "You deserve the benefit of the doubt."

Akko released a breath she didn't even remember holding. At least she had a few potential friends here, this didn't have to be a complete shitshow.

"Wanna beat up some golems? Hanbridge wants me to check out your technique." The redheaded knight pointed with a head motion towards the active construct currently overpowering an increasingly exhausted Frank.

She nodded, drawing Chariot's sword with vigor and listening to the air yield.

Amanda didn't seem pleased.

"Yeah, no." She deadpanned, yanking the blade from her hands and putting it back inside the scabbard. "We actually want to keep these things around."

She walked towards the ring of obelisks behind the swordmaster, taking further note of the area. A rack of interesting looking swords sat in an open trunk; they were incredibly dull, presumably used for training as to not cause any actual damage.

Outside the ring was a stone tablet affixed to the ground with an interesting magical circle etched into its surface. Amanda stepped directly on top of the circle, causing it to begin glowing purple.

"001! Cease combat simulation!"

**"Acknowledged. Awaiting Orders."** The training golem relaxed, changing its stance to a neutral one, resting the sword against the ground in a planted position.

"You're improving, Frank. Take a break for a bit while I check out Kagari." The blonde man smiled at the two of them, nodding and tossing the sword into Akko's unprepared arms.

She fumbled slightly but ended up with the dull blade in hand, standing inside the ring. The practice weapon wasn't balanced as comfortably as Claiomh Solais, the centre of gravity slightly higher up. It wasn't a huge issue, but she felt noticeably clumsier when holding it.

"All right, start with your one on one stance." The swordmaster commanded, standing with her arms folded; her face hardening as focus on the actual job was regained.

Widening the position of her feet against the stone and aligning them diagonally to the rest of her body, Akko raised her arms, pointing the sword forward with one; raising a hand to just beside her cheek with the other.

"Hmm." Amanda pondered, walking around the circular platform to get multiple angles. "A mixed stance with several points of wasted potential energy." The sword-master mumbled to herself with many terms Akko didn't fully understand.

"Bend your knees a bit." She critiqued, maneuvering over towards the tablet once more.

The defender did so, testing out a quick parry maneuver. A slight bounce back on her now more springy legs and a twisted wrist before lunging forward into a horizontal slice.

Amanda raised her eyebrows at the strange yet effective parry, stepping onto the magic circle to see it in action. "001! Examination run. Parries."

**"Acknowledged."**

With a crumbling step and a flare of purple, the golem attacked, swinging its blade upward toward's Akko's ribs. She pulled her arm back, grabbing the hilt with both hands and tilting it towards the oncoming weapon.

As soon as it hits, the defender's legs absorb the impact easily, adding the force as they spring up to the twist of her wrist. The sound of metal rang out as her training sword connected with stone and Akko hopped back out of the way of any retaliatory strike.

Getting into her stance again, she prepared for another hit, adrenaline heightening her reaction times.

Again the golem's sword came swinging, this time in a horizontal slice. Meeting the weapon halfway, Akko pushed the intended trajectory downward to clang against the stone uselessly, and with the opening lunged a thrust into the stone.

The blonde knight clapped, nodding a few times in appreciation, his eyes shining. "You really are Chariot's squire aren't you?"

Raising a hand to wave off the compliment gave Akko just enough time to realize the enemy wasn't flesh. Just barely blocking the sword, the defender was tossed to the ground; thankfully her head landed in the snow rather than on the solid stone, saving her a concussion and a princess' scolding.

"But she isn't Chariot." Swordmaster O'Neill pointed out with a laugh. "001, cease combat simulation."

**"Acknowledged."**

A gloved hand pulled the brunette up to standing, patting her on the shoulder for good measure. "But that's what this place is for." Amanda's grin helped soothe Akko's bruised ego.

"I'll make you into a real badass, Kagari."

A sudden rush of blue magic shook through the castle, causing the two knights to stumble as their hearts flared with fire. Frank watched from afar with pursed lips, the blue wave passing through him like a gust of air.

_"Defend..."_ Akko mumbled, eyes glassy and far off.

_"Serve..."_ Amanda murmured a second after.

The swordmaster recovered first, gasping for a breath and looking up to the source with an irritated scowl.

Embers of blue were still dissipating around the tallest of Castle Manbavaran's towers, Her Highness' windows nearly opaque from reflected light.

"It looks like the princess is awake now." She called back to the defender, keeping her green eyes on Sucy's tower for a moment longer. "She'll be needing you as soon as possible."

"See you later?" Amanda asked, offering her fist in a gesture of comradery.

Akko had yet to come to terms with what a bonded oath to The Crown entailed the way many others seemed to. She was envious of their recovery speed, holding a hand to her burning chest. "Yeah.." She wheezed, waving towards Frank and stumbling as quickly as she could towards the castle.

**-oOo-**

The closer Defender Kagari got to Her Highness' tower, the further away the pain in her chest felt. And by the time she reached the sight of the two constructs, it had faded completely.

Opening the door slowly, Atsuko knocked on the wood, alerting the royal to her arrival.

"Your Highness? I'm here!" She called, scanning over the first floor. The princess' desk was a bit messier than the other day, many test-tubes and bottles bubbling away in a concerning rainbow of colours from green to black.

Lotte came walking down the stairs to greet her, bowing respectfully and smiling. "Good morning, Defender Kagari. Her Highness is just finishing her morning tea."

Curiosity took control of her mouth and a question flew from her throat before its relevance was determined. "What kind of tea?"

"It doesn't really have a name." The servant girl explained, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Something Her Benevolence came up with for the late riser."

Defender Kagari's ears twitched. She hadn't even seen the queen of yet, let alone met her; so the breadcrumbs were eaten up quickly, added to the mental picture of her personality in Akko's mind.

Lotte bowed once more, heading out the open door when it was clear the squire turned defender had no further questions. The click of the lock shook Akko from her mental organization, resuming the original goal-point of Her Highness' bedside.

When she reached the top of the stairs, the brunette was met with a most breathtaking sight. Her Highness sat up in her bed in a pink silken nightdress, blankets pooling around her hips, her hair tied up in a messy bun. Her eyes were closed, focused intently on the taste of the tea in her delicate hands.

Akko's face grew hot as her eyes ate up the sight of Her Highness' neck and shoulders, at the sight of her collarbones which the lower cut gown showed without care.

A picture of her own shoulders without a head atop them popped into her head, forcing her into a genuflect where she stared deep into the princess' carpet.

"Why dost thou avert thine eyes? As defender, thou must always watch over me." The princess' voice made Akko's head snap up, her words singing true to the oath that burnt within them both.

Princess Sucy's smile was half genuine, half teasing as their gazes met. "There they are, my favourite pair of dopey rubies."

The defender decided not to respond to the jab, as keeping locked on Her Highness' eyes kept her own from wandering, the temptation always pulling.

"Think of this sight as your incentive for being punctual." She smiles teasingly into the rim of her teacup, throwing a quick wink to throw Akko off balance even further. "There's no one to punish you all the way up here."

Atsuko took a seat on the edge of the royal's bed, trying her best to keep her red hot blush under control. "Did you sleep well, Your Highness?" She inquired, eager to change the subject away from Her Highness' wonderful skin.

There were a few moments of waiting for the princess to respond, as she clearly weighed how much truth to sprinkle in to her next words. "It was pleasant." She said simply. "I feel fully rested."

It wasn't the answer Akko was looking for, but she decided not to pry. Her job wasn't to know everything Her Highness thought, it was to keep her safe.

"I think some of your servants tricked Haya into helping them with chores." The defender's next attempt at conversation drew a choked snort from Her Highness, much welcomed laughter echoing in the spacious room.

Haya was still asleep when Atsuko left the room hours earlier, but on the way to the tower, the brunette caught sight of her dragging a sack of potatoes in the direction of the kitchen.

"A child must be kept busy I suppose." She chuckled, handing the cup and saucer to Akko with a pointed expression that said 'try it'. "But if you are that offended by it, perhaps she can join us on our walk."

_'Walk?'_ The defender thought while bringing the teacup to her lips. But then it surfaced in her blood rushed mind: Her Highness' probably wouldn't have called her if she didn't plan on leaving her room.

The tea was unlike anything she had ever tasted before, like the smell of a damp forest in spring; the moist dirt, the bark and pine needles, the sap; it was all there.

"Its nice isn't it?" The princess' voice was close, and a quick turn of the head left found that her face was equally as close. She sat next to the defender on her calves, her hands folded together patiently in her lap. "I find it the perfect thing to shake off the dark of sleep."

Akko stood, holding out a hand for her to take, stabilizing the royal's decent from her rather high mattress. The frost of the room seemed to sink into her flesh as her feet touched down on the carpet and Defender Kagari noticed this. She quickly procured the nightdress' overcoat that was folded neatly nearby and draped it over Her Highness' shoulders.

"You are a servant of many uses Akko." The princess noted, a small smile teasing the edges of her mouth. "Now stay here. As much as you may wish to, you cannot watch me change."

The blush was back as Defender Kagari watched the princess' retreating form, her teasing cackle still audible as the bathroom door shut tight.

**-oOo-**

The group of three walked through the halls, both of Akko's arms captured by a girl. Her Highness led the way, holding tightly to the defender's bicep and pulling her along. "...And then Miss Blair gave me a whole carrot!" The other hand held tightly to Haya's much smaller one, keeping her from wandering off and causing trouble.

"Why a whole carrot my dear?" Her Highness asked, leaning in front of Akko see the tiny girl's face. "Surely someone of your size couldn't eat an entire carrot on their own!"

The defender smiled at Her Highness' humoring tone; she had defrosted quickly to Haya, showing a rare openness Akko had only seen given to herself and His Majesty.

"She said its to help my eyes! I'm gonna have super vision some day!" The little girl put one finger to her temple and looked hard at an unlit candle with focus, as if expecting it to burst into flames. "It's still a work in progress."

Their path led them to a set of great pine doors, engraved with designs of roses and vines. Wiggling her arms as to free them from her affectionate companions, Akko pushed against the wood, slowly creaking them apart.

The large doors opened up to a small and rather isolated garden, surrounded on all sides by the rest of the castle and half covered by a mesh of stone arches. Snow covered the ground and much of the greenery, though not a single flower had wilted in the deathly cold this winter brought.

Haya skipped ahead, sticking her nose into a lily and smiling brightly. A few flakes of snow dusted down from the areas of the roof that were open to the sky and she stuck out her tongue to catch them.

In between two large shrubs was a stone bench, intricately carved and devoid of any snow thanks to the overhang of the castle wall. The pair sat down to watch the snow fall and the child leap from patch of snow to patch of snow, the soft scent of flowers surrounding them.

Her Highness closed her eyes, resting her head against the defender's shoulder. "These same flowers have lived in this garden for over 300 years." Akko's interest was piqued, yet another scrap of information added to her memory, but stayed on task. Her eyes moved from Haya, to the roof, to the princess, to the door, to Haya; this pattern of watching and listening for danger was her job, and she would not fail.

"Magic?" She asked after two rounds of scanning, shifting her arm a bit to make the princess more comfortable.

"One of the earlier ones an heir is given." Her Highness confirmed. "Though my father uses it far more often than I do."

The concept of being 'given' magic was rather odd for Akko to think about; wasn't magic something that you had to learn? That's how it was in the fairy tales at least.

"How many do you have now?" It seemed to be the most logical question to continue with, if there were multiple she must have had a few already. Akko's memory brought up images of the different colours she had seen thus far; pink, purple, blue, and green.

Her Highness breathed in deeply before sighing out her answer. "Nine. It will be a while before I'm ready for the tenth. "

A small chuckle vibrated against the defender's shoulder. "I thought I would be ready for it by the time you became a knight." Akko's cheek puffed a bit, though a smile would soon push it away.

"Well you and His Majesty were the ones behind that decision." The brunette huffed."'Wanted me chained to the castle as soon as possible."

Princess Sucy opened her eyes, looking up at her shield before hugging just that bit tighter.

"It was a good decision."


	10. Gifts

**-oOo-**

Roughly twenty minutes were spent in that garden before Her Highness was called to the dining hall for breakfast. The servant girl took charge of Haya, taking her back towards the kitchen; politely listening as bombastic stories flowed from the child's mind.

Akko, with Her Highness attached, walked quietly down the hallway, the defender taking proper care to always be moving her eyes. Though it was the castle interior and hundreds of guards were posted within and without, one could never be too careful.

"Thou'rt very quiet today." Her Highness spoke up, keeping her eyes forward on the hall ahead. "Tell me of this morning; of thy training efforts."

"My silence is because of focus, Your Highness." The defender explained. "I must always keep you safe."

The fire in her chest became tamer the more she spoke, as if repeating her oath aloud pleased it somehow.

"I didn't know I meant so much to you, dear Defender." Her Highness teased, smiling up at her shield. Akko's brain clunked to a stop, thoughts becoming jumbled and twisted with embarrassment.

"No! I- Yes! It's my job but-" Her cheeks puffed. It was clear there was no way out of this that didn't end in a red face and laughter. The princess giggled at Akko's side, leaning against her shoulder as chuckles racked through her chest. "You are so easy."

When the laughter subsided she sighed happily, continuing to lean against her defender with a smile. "And very sweet."

Defender Kagari's red face lasted the rest of the journey as she spoke of her training, causing various passing servants to stare and smile. They were already guaranteed to be gossiping in the kitchen, and this would only add to the tales.

Opening the door to the dining hall with a bow, Akko allowed Her Highness to enter first before following her inside.

The room was quite spacious, but in a different way to the council chamber. It stretched back for a time, mainly taken up by a long ornate table, covered in white tablecloth embroidered with gold. At the head of the table, sat in a far more ornate seat than any others in the room, was His Majesty. He sat with his eye closed and his brow furrowed, listening as a servant read what was presumably a letter aloud to him.

To his right a middle aged woman in white rested her chin on bridged hands, looking across the table at the servant. An elaborate golden crown similar in structure to His Majesty's adorned her head, a silken wimple flowing down the side and back of her head, around her dark brown hair to sit just below her shoulders.

The countless golden accessories and gemstones that adorned the woman's body brought colour to her otherwise monochrome outfit: a rainbow of familiar shades- pink, green, blue, purple -as well as many others.

Her sharp and enchanting features and silky looking hair made it clear who this woman was- as if the crown wasn't enough indication.

This was the queen of Luna. Sucy's mother.

Closer to the end near the door, the table was filled with what seemed to be His Majesty's advisors and other high ranking figures within the castle. They sat and conversed, though the rumble of voices obscured specifics from the defender's ears.

Akko increased her speed slightly to make it to the head of the table before Her Highness and pull her chair out preemptively.

'This is what a good knight does right?' She thought, blindly committing chivalrous acts in hopes of impressing the royals. Her Highness smiled as she took a seat, holding out a hand for her defender to show the proper respect. Akko kneeled, giving three quick kisses before standing and bowing low at the hips to the king and queen.

"Your Majesty. Your Benevolence."

Without being able to see him, the defender knew His Majesty had opened his eye. It was easy to feel a Manbavaran's gaze on you.

"Ah, Defender Kagari. We thank Thee for bring our daughter to us with such haste; dining together as a family is such a rare opportunity."

Her Benevolence chuckled, a very close three puff laugh to her daughter. "So this is the Kagari I have been hearing about. Rise please, loyal defender."

Though she had been getting better about it recently, having multiple members of the Manbavaran line staring at her made Akko tense.

"She seems so professional." The queen remarked, scanning her daughter's shield up and down. "Art thou sure this be the same girl who mistakes left shoe for right?"

"How do you know that?" Akko accidentally blurted out. She had been alone on every occasion that mistake had been made.

She was just about to prostrate and beg forgiveness for her rude interruption when King Ataas burst out laughing, his sharp rows of terrifying shark teeth clearly visible.

The way he laughed was leaps and bounds different to the ladies: where they kept their mouths closed and giggled, he barked out round after round as if the power of his amusement was too powerful for mortal lips to contain. It was almost infectious.

But all humor drained from Akko's face as the laughter ceased suddenly, his eye beginning to glow blue.

"Please, Defender Kagari." He admonished, an impish grin growing. "Thine every step is known to me."

A shiver ran through the defender's spine, her heart skipping a beat as the fire shivered like a candle in the wind. She gulped.

Luckily the food arrived shortly after, allowing Akko to breathe easier and focus on her actual job. Her hand resting on the back of Her Highness' seat to always have a physical check, the brunette scanned from one end of the hall to the other. Her eyes jumped from one door to the ceiling, back to the door, and then towards the kitchen.

"Defender dearest." Her Highness' voice broke up the pattern. Craning her head back to look up at her shield, the princess offered a forkful of the day's breakfast. "An opinion?"

Bending down to bring her mouth closer to the morsel, Akko took a bite. The quality of the meat was utterly baffling, especially in this month of icy hell. It melted in her mouth as she chewed, soft and rich.

"My own opinion, Your Highness?" She verified once the glob of gold dropped into her stomach. "It is the most delicious thing my peasant tongue has ever been graced with."

The princess observed her face for a moment in silence. "Anything thou wouldst add?"

"I've always enjoyed salt more than the average person, so perhaps that." In her younger days when the family's income was far less stable, her father coming home with a preserved and salted scrap of meat was like Christmas; that feeling of joy followed her for years after.

Turning back to her plate for a moment, Her Highness sprinkled something on the fork before offering it once again. The defender giggled, taking the offered food. "Your Highness." She began once her mouth was no longer busy with the freshly salted morsel. "If you just enjoy feeding me, we can do that later. This is your meal, you gotta eat."

Her Benevolence smiled from across the table. politely covering her mouth as she chewed. Defender Kagari was back to her watchpost, holding the back of Sucy's chair and scanning the room like a stone sentry.

The princess and her knight spoke in hushed tones, sharing quick glances and smiles as the food was consumed and the table guarded.

"The Nine have certainly gifted us with a different cut of knight, haven't they dear?" The queen murmured to her husband, smiling as she cut the rest of her meal into smaller chunks.

His Majesty hummed, side eyeing his daughter's new shield.

"If the weapon at her hip is indeed Capella's lost light, you may be correct."

The king and queen looked at each other in silent agreement. This winter was a curse, an unknown plague of unfathomable power brought about by an unknown being. During such crises in the past, the Nine would lend their aid in whatever form they deemed necessary.

"It has been quite a time since our last chat Sucy darling." Her Benevolence started, bringing the two separate conversations back into one. "Tell us of thy studies."

Her Highness set her knife and fork down, looking down at her hands and stretching them a few times. A lovely pink glow surrounded her fingers, bringing Akko back to those soothing healing sessions.

"I believe I have nearly mastered Piscoria's gift, though the mending of bones requires some amount of natural healing." She seemed rather disappointed by this limitation, as if healing flesh and muscle within seconds wasn't enough.

King Ataas nodded along in agreement, his eye shining with pride. "Piscoria has forever been close to thee, child. Though bones may yet be a point of struggle, thou beith the most skillful healer our line has ever seen."

Sucy drooped her head bashfully, her hands returning to normal. "I am not nearly as skilled with the other gifts." She murmured, bunching up her dress in her fists as she side eyed her shield. "I cannot control Cirenia's sight. The visions come and go as they please."

Akko was enthralled by the royal's talk of magic- of 'gifts' as they called them. Her mind was pulled towards a memory of the council room, of the nine figures holding out different coloured orbs. Slowly bits and pieces were beginning to connect; soon Her Highness' world would be hers as well.

The queen smiled gently at her child, angelic features sending waves of warmth their way. "Perhaps the sanctuary would be a place of further guidance? Thou mayst appeal directly to the Lady of the Blue Moon."

Her Highness was quiet for a second or two before looking up at her shield. "What dost thou think? Would an outing to the Temple of the Nine be acceptable?"

Akko bowed before answering. "As long as I may follow, your wishes- your joy, are mine as well." Though worded in a way that made it sound rehearsed, the entire statement was true. With the princess was at her side, literally anything could be enjoyable.

"Since when did you get so suave?" Her Highness murmured, blushing. "This was more fun when you were an idiot."

In truth, this was the one job which the defender would be competent in. She had learned under Chariot since she was a small child; there was little else she was qualified for.

Courier? She got lost too easily.

Woodcutter? She always missed the log.

Stablehand? Farm animals hated her.

It made Atsuko smile, more out of relief than anything. The only job she could do, and she was successful in it. This was the only acceptable conclusion.

"Sucy? The temple?" Her Benevolence asked again, shaking her daughter from her red-faced reverie.

"Oh. Perhaps this afternoon, mother." The princess answered, patting her cheeks lightly to try and get rid of the blush and continuing with the actual conversation topic. "I wish to return to my room and practice with the other gifts."

The king nodded, stacking his empty plate atop hers. "Thou should givest an attempt at puppetry." He suggested. "Thou hast yet to create a construct of thy own, correct?"

Her Highness stretched her fingers again, this time with a purple glow surrounding them. "I have not, father." She confirmed with a glint of determination in her eye.

"Defender Kagari shall assist. With such loyal help surely thou shalt succeed." King Ataas smiled at the shield, standing from his seat to hold the back in a similar fashion.

"I will be eagerly awaiting the results, my child." The queen agreed. "This afternoon?"

Sucy nodded, taking the defender's offered hand and rising from her own seat. "Yes mother. My shield shall escort me to the temple after lunch."

With Her Highness attached to her bicep as always, Akko bowed upper body slightly to the king and queen. "We shall take our leave, Your Majesty; Your Benevolence."

Goodbyes said, the pair left the dining hall, the door held open for the princess by her shield.

As they walked, Akko filled the silence with small talk.

"Her Benevolence is a truly lovely woman." She stated to the princess, keeping her eyes moving from window to hallway to door. "I can see where your own beauty comes from."

"You certainly know how to make a girl swoon, Defender." Princess Sucy teased, a hand held to her cheek in false embarrassment. Though secretly a flush was attempting to climb up her neck, the defender's compliments not entirely ineffective.

"Oi! I can be charming when I want to." The defender pouted. She had hoped Her Highness to be the one flustered; the princess' breakfast blush leaving Akko wanting more.

"I am well aware, Akko." The princess chuckled, thinking back to all the times her shield had kissed her hand, or helped her up, or opened a door for her. "Your chivalry and smile could win over any young lady."

Akko flushed further. "I h-have no need for any other young lady, Your Highness." She reassured, fumbling her cool knight line. "I am sworn to you until death and then centuries more."

Her highness merely closed her eyes, hugging her defender's arm tighter.

**-oOo-**

"Alright, here we go."

It didn't take long for the princess to decide on what would be puppeted. A finely crafted porcelain doll, flawless pale skin identical to Her Highness', lips pouted cutely, carefully painted makeup completing the look.

"A childhood favourite. Though it mostly collects dust these days."

Carefully sitting the doll down in the middle of the floor, Princess Sucy took four steps back. Akko took five, standing opposite Her Highness on the other side of the room. "Good luck, Your Highness."

"Yeah." She nodded, closing her eyes.

Her Highness' eyes began to glow purple under their lids, her hands outstretched to either side of her wreathed in a deep violet flame. The floor around the doll shivered as the bigger and bigger rings of a magic circle surrounded it.

Akko watched in complete fascination, eyes locked on the princess' constantly moving lips. She was mumbling strings of words, entire paragraphs flowed from her mouth like water and filled the empty spaces between rings with symbols and sentences.

Embers of magic rose up from the floor as the circle glowed brighter and lifted off of the ground, each part spinning at a different speed like the symbols on Her Highness' ceiling.

Finally the doll itself floated up into the air, in the exact same position as the princess with the same glowing purple eyes.

"By the power of the Nine! Rise and serve!" With a shout, the princess threw her hands back together in a thunderous clap, causing the whole magic circle to spiral inward and slam into the doll.

When the flash of light subsided the doll was standing upright, engulfed in purple fire that slowly died down. Saving further observation for later, Akko ran over to catch Her Highness before she collapsed, allowing the royal to lean against her defender's chest and catch her breath.

They stood there for a little while, just staring at the animated doll as most of the fire vanished. There were a few tears around the key joints; the shoulders, the elbows, the knees, the neck; and a chip on the doll's left cheek and forehead, where a purple inferno could be seen within.

"My first actual construct..." The princess panted, looping her arms around her defender's neck with her eyes still locked on her creation.

Akko's eyes however were locked onto Her Highness, watching her small chest move up and down with heavy breaths. _'Absolutely enchanting...'_ She thought wistfully as her eyes took in the princess' beauty. The fire within agreed, pulsing with an even stronger desire to keep this angel safe.

"Are you alright Your Highness? Can I get you something to drink?" Another part of her duty, defending the princess' health and well being, came to the forefront and filled Atsuko with concern.

"I'm fine Akko..." She breathed, resting her head on the shield's shoulder. "I just need a second."

When she recovered, the pair took a step towards the construct, it's rigid posture twitching every so often as a bit of purple escaped through the cracks.

**"Awaiting designation..."** The voice that came out of the doll's motionless mouth seemed fitting, like a small girl that had just awoken from a nap, but layered behind it was a deeper and breathier voice that lagged behind by half a second.

Her Highness let go of her defender's hand, kneeling down in front of the doll. "You are Anakapi." She declared after a moment of thought.

**"Designation Anakapi: Saved..."**

The construct Anakapi curtsied, standing in a less stiff way- similar to the way Lotte stood while talking with its hands clasped together and hanging down. **"I exist to serve, Your Highness."** It said robotically, lacking emotion or inflection like all the other constructs did.

"Run movement diagnostic." Princess Sucy ordered, shifting her legs to sit more comfortably.

**"Acknowledged."** Anakapi seized up, its feet pulling in to align perfectly straight up and down, its arms shooting out to the side with every finger straight and parallel to the rest of its arm. It stood there in a T pose for a second before its head began to spin.

Its head spun three times fully around in one direction before reversing and spinning three times in the other. The doll's head then ceased movement, halting for a full second before it bent down, pressing its chin to its chest; moving the opposite way to test backwards.

**"Head movements optimal."** It droned before testing each of its other joints; the shoulders, the elbows, the wrists and fingers, the waist, legs, and feet.

**"No impairment detected."** Akko snorted at its conclusion. No impairment was an understatement: the doll could spin its head around in circles as many times as possible, bend its knees _forwards_, contort itself into all manner of inhuman positions.

"A successful experiment. Well done, Your Highness." Akko praised, tucking a stray strand of hair behind the princess' ear.

"Anakapi, sleep mode." She ordered, contently letting the shield play with her hair.

**"Acknowledged."** It responded, sitting down like a normal girl would and seizing up like stone, the fire within and the lights in its eyes going out simultaneously.

Her Highness looked up, her half lidded eye unfocused. "Take me to my bed." She demanded, standing up and leaning into Akko. "I would like to lay down."

Atsuko was just about to take a step, when the princess stopped her, grabbing her arm. "What are you doing? Carry me."

And so, one arm under Her Highness's knees, the other under her back, the defender carried her up the stairs towards the bed.

Orders were orders.


	11. The Immortal Monolith

**-oOo-**

The morning sun peaked over the mountains in the distance, casting a yellow beam of warmth into Her Highness' tower. The light refracted through crystals of frost that grew on the glass surface; little dust could be found within the rays, Lotte's hard work and dedication showing itself clear as the day's sky.

Her highness fell asleep shortly after hitting the mattress, leaving the defender alone with her thoughts for some time. Draping an extra blanket over the slumbering princess and removing her tiara, Akko wondered towards the balcony; leaning over the railing.

Only a single sound entered Akko's ears, the princess' gentle breathing the melody to a quiet lullaby as as a few fizzing flasks became the bass line of white noise.

Such calm silence was alien to the defender, accustomed as she was to crowded streets and thin walls, and yet here at one of the highest points in the kingdom, she felt at home.

_'Home.'_

Word association brought an unhappy reminder to the shield's head.

She didn't have a home anymore. It was ripped violently away from her, by something that didn't know or care about her existence.

And as much as every fibre in her being wanted to ride westward to hunt down her mother and Chariot, Akko had people to look after here.

_'Papa... Haya...'_

Turning her head slightly towards the sleeping royal, Atsuko let out a breath. "Your Highness..." She sighed wistfully, dragging a chair over to her bedside and taking a seat.

Her Highness looked troubled in her sleep; her eyes moving around under their lids, her face twitching, eyebrows drooping low, but a gentle hand on hers was enough to make the princess fall still.

_'I will protect them all...'_

She watched Her Highness sleep for an hour, memorizing every milimetre of her beauty; from her long lovely lashes, to her silky puce hair, to the elegant shape of her porcelain face; until the sound of an opening door brought all of her attention to the lower floor.

With no word from Her Highness' stone guards, the entrant would have to have had a high security level, but still the defender kept her ears open.

Light pensive footsteps creaked on the stairs, the rattling of some sort of metal against metal; Akko stood to meet them, hand casually resting on the hilt of her sword just in case.

A familiar face popped into view, holding a covered platter of food with both hands: Jasminka, the stocky servant that had brought Her Highness' food while the squire recovered.

She bowed to the defender, placing the silver platter on a side table. "A light lunch for Her Highness and her Shield." The girl explained with a curtsy, turning to leave down the stairs.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Akko quietly steps over to Her Highness' bedside, taking a seat on the mattress and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Your Highness." She whispered, shaking lightly. "It is time to wake up." The princess shifted, a hand sleepily grabbing Akko's wrist and rolling over onto her back. With the captured hand, Her Highness brought it up to her face, forcing the shield to cup her cheek.

She was unbelievably soft, youthful cheeks not completely dissipated as she grew. Akko instinctively ran a thumb over the princess' cheek, smiling at how she snuggled into the hand in appreciation.

Eventually her lashes began to flutter, eyelids creaking open slowly, tiny aqua embers sticking to the tips of her eyelashes, vanishing into the air with another blink.

"Is it a dream i find myself, dearest defender?" She murmured sleepily, continuing to rub her face into Akko's palm as her eyes drifted closed. "If not, prithee humor me with thy continued touch."

Doing as she was told, the shield gently caressed Her Highness' face, a light blush on her cheeks when the princess sighed in bliss.

The royal's nose twitched, her one visible eye opening slightly. "I can smell something nice..."

"Food, Your Highness." Akko explained, pulling her hand away from the princess' face to lift the silver cloche off of their food. "A light meal before we are to visit Her Benevolence."

Her Highness hummed, turning over to her side and bring her knees up towards her chest. Watching quietly as her shield took the bowl of soup and offered it, gesturing for the princess to correct her posture to something suitable for eating.

She huffed and sat up, taking the bowl into her cold hands; taking a deep breath when the smell rose up into her nostrils. "The Royal cooks are such geniuses." The princess almost groaned, stirring the bowl's contents before offering a spoonful to her shield.

"You said I could feed you lunch." Her Highness teased, grinning happily. And not one to go back on her word, especially to royalty, Akko shuffled a bit closer and opened her mouth.

The deliciousness touched her tongue on a silver spoon, and she fully groaned in bliss, making the princess giggle. She spooned her own bite and brought it to her mouth, nodding with a smile.

They ate together like this until the bowl was completely empty, Her Highness keeping control of the spoon the entire time.

"You truly enjoy feeding me don't you?" The defender asked with a smirk, pulling Her Highness' hand towards her mouth to lick up the last few droplets of soup.

Princess Sucy flushed slightly, looking away. "I suppose it makes me feel like less of a royal; above everyone else, above doing such things."

"And it helps you feel less like you owe me?" Akko assumed, returning the princess' hand and leaning just a bit closer.

Her Highness' head turned even further away, eyes looking down towards the floor. "I..." She tried to begin, falling quiet for a time before trying once more.

"You are a loyal friend." She stated with a tiny nod of her head, as if reassuring herself more than the shield. "You are dear to me, and I would never wish to... to use you like a simple tool."

"You deserve more than just words of appreciation..." The blush was beginning to take over the princess' face, her arms placing the bowl down to wrap around herself in a hug.

She looked so vulnerable, emotional- two words Akko would not usually use to describe the princess.

Gently peeling each finger, Akko pulled Her Highness' hands away from herself and into the grasp of her shield. "Your Highness." The defender said warmly, her mouth widening into bright sunshine as she bent down to press numerous kisses against the princess' knuckles. "The chance to be your friend, to be with you every day, is payment enough."

Blush continuing to grow, Her Highness began to giggle, tugging her hands away and holding them to her chest. "Such an idiot." She tried to grumble, failing spectacularly as her face crumpled into an embarrassed smile. "I'm gonna get you back for today eventually!"

"We should get going." She coughed, changing the subject to something less heartfelt.

**-oOo-**

Leaving the castle from the eastern wing, Akko adjusted her hood, making sure her vision was as clear as possible, field of view no smaller. Her Highness took the spot at her side, bundled up as warm as possible and even stealing her shield's heat.

"My mother will be expecting us." She notified the defender, taking the lead and pulling Akko down the road in the direction of the temple. "I believe you will enjoy our meager monument to the highest."

Meager was not the word Akko would have used. The massive building was easily as large as Castle Manbavaran Keep; though not as tall, it was built with even greater care. Each sparkling marble stone was cut perfectly, each brick identical in its cut; the detail work accenting them intricate and detailed.

The flowerbeds in front of the temple were lively, like those in castle's secret garden: beautiful bushels of roses that looked not a day older than bloom. Each flower was lightly dusted with snow, frost creeping across the petals, attempting to force the natural season onto a power far beyond itself.

As soon as the pair crossed the threshold, the temperature immediately raised, as if the very sun was closer to earth in this particular spot. Akko awed at the size of the temple's interior, at the expertly weaved tapestries hanging from every wall.

Many people quietly kneeled around a central, serene pool of water, praying together in hushed murmurs. The few that had yet to find a statue or altar to pray at widened their eyes at the sight of Her Highness, but recoiled when Atsuko met their eyes.

Sparks of blue fire danced in her irises, her heart beating a tiny bit faster.

**Defend.**

**Protect.**

Simple townsfolk praying to their gods were hardly a threat, but the shield stayed vigilant, a mix of anxiety and the fire burning inside pumping her blood harder, faster.

"Calm my shield." The princess soothed, rubbing Akko's shoulder up and down. "They will do no harm, let us find my mother."

Deeper within the temple was a smaller chamber, behind multiple stone doors that slid aside for Her Highness. The queen knelt on a central platform embraced by a beam of light, surrounded by statues of nine figures identical to those in the council chamber mural.

She prayed with eyes closed upward into the light, mumbling words into the air, to another Akko couldn't see or hear. The shield could barely hear the queen's own voice, but she was clearly speaking, two repeated words the easiest to make out.

"...Thank you..."

At the sight of the light, Her Highness bowed her head, kneeling and pushing her defender downward to do the same. Akko let it happen for a multitude of reasons, the biggest of course being the fact that royalty was doing it and therefore could not be questioned; the second being that this was assuredly the holiest site in the temple and whatever the queen was doing was not meant to be seen.

"You may rise my child; most loyal defender." Her Benevolence's voice echoed off of the stone walls, warm and motherly as opposed to the more collected way she had spoken in the dining room. Without even opening her eyes, the queen knew of their arrival; turning her head slightly and smiling- the beam of light now gone.

"I'm glad you are here. Cirenia is overjoyed to play a part in the future she foresees." Taking careful steps down the stairs towards them, Her Benevolence placed a gentle hand on the princess' head, adjusting her tiara as a doting mother should.

Following her mother down the steps to the lower floor, Princess Sucy hugged a bit tighter to her shield, a silent grasp for reassurance that Akko answered with a squeeze.

"Come Sucy;kneel before her image." They stopped in front of one of the statues: a tall woman, antlers jutting out from her head of long flowing hair, leaves and flowers weaved into many of the strands. Her eyes were closed, a smile permanently etched into her face, like she was in on a joke no one else was; her arms open as if beckoning others to learn the answer.

"Miss Kagari and I shall be but a few steps away while you speak." The queen said, placing an arm on Akko's shoulder and gesturing to the space in front of the goddess' statue.

Her Highness reluctantly let go of her defender's precious arm, carefully kneeling down on the cold marble tile, looking upward at Cirenia's face. Atsuko respectfully took a step back, walking with the queen towards a different statue as Sucy bowed her head low and began to pray.

"She has a heavy weight upon her." Her Benevolence began in a whisper, taking care to make sure her daughter could not hear them. She flicked her eyes over to Akko, looking the shield up and down. "You will need to be at her side, defending her; you must be the rock she leans on in tough times."

Akko took in the queen's words, slowing to a stop in front one of the farthest statues from Her Highness. As thoughts and feelings of the princess swirled in her head, the defender looked up in awe at the mighty knightess standing tall in stone.

She was tall, taller than even the slim physique of Cirenia, covered from neck to toe in brilliantly ornate plate mail, what looked to be an embroidered silk cape flowing down from two thick pauldrons behind her. Under one arm she held a chipped great-helm worn from many bloody battles, and supported in front of her leg by a steady hand, a mighty tower shield engraved with a symbol of the sun. Her gaze stared straight into Akko's soul, fierce and firey, framed on both sides by a bob of straight hair.

"I see she calls to you." The queen observed, shaking the defender from her hypnotized awe.

"Capella. The Immortal Monolith, The Unbreakable."

"I'm not surprised." She began after the air had stilled. "There isn't a knight alive who does not pray to her daily, begging for victory, for a fraction of her willpower or strength."

Akko turned back to marvel at the giant woman, the very picture of what it meant to be a knight, listening to the queen talk.

"I have read from her holy texts, stories of the early days as our world formed. Of Capella shielding the others from falling stars and firestorms; halting a meteor the size of this city before throwing it back out into the void."

The defender could barely comprehend such a massive thing existing, let alone imagine anyone or anything being able to stop it.

'_But these are gods._' A voice within reminded, pushing away her puny mortal beliefs.

"I would recommend you speak with her..." Her Benevolence trailed off, an unsaid but hanging in the air.

"In all my years as queen and high-priestess, not even I have heard her voice."

It seemed rather strange to Akko that a goddess would give the entire world the silent treatment for who knows how long, but in all she had read of in myth and fairytale, deities had done far stranger things.

The queen brought a hand to her chest, letting out a slight chuckle. "Oh but listen to me, we are far away from the path." Her other hand came down on the shield's shoulder. "Tell me what you see when you look up at this statue."

Defender Kagari's eyes once again met with the stone of Capella's gaze, always seeming to be looking directly at her from whatever direction she leaned.

Those eyes said 'try something, I dare you.'

Those eyes said 'it's through me or not at all.'

Those were the eyes of a true shield, a defender of the innocent and the defenseless. It was the same look she had seen on Chariot when she stood between 6 bandits and a merchant; it was the same look she had seen on herself in the frosted glass of that shack.

"I see stone, Your Benevolence. Sturdy, immovable, everything Capella is and I should be."

The priestess-queen nodded, smiling before squeezing just a bit tighter on Akko's shoulder. "Stone in all but the heart, Atsuko." She corrected, eyes turning stern. "For you must always remember why it is that you fight: what you fight for, who you would die for, and why. Lest you be indistinguishable from a construct."

"Stay by her side when we cannot, be there for her when the weight is too much." She poked forcefully into Akko's chest, keeping her mother bear eyes locked on the defender as advice turned into orders. "Take her into your heart and hold her there for the rest of time."

Defender Kagari nodded once, placing a hand around the queen's finger. "She is already in here, Your Benevolence, and shall be until my dying breath. I promise you."

This prompted a chuckle from the Nine's highest priestess, one that made Akko's eyebrows jump upwards.

"There it is." The queen said simply. "That determination. A fire all your own, not of my husband's creation." She brought her hands to rest in front of her, turning away from the defender to look up at Capella's statue, shaking her head. "I can see it now, clear as day. No more doubts."

"Pardon, Your Benevolence?" The shield questioned, leaning slightly around the front of the queen.

"Sucy should be nearly finished with her prayer. Let us return to her side." She did not answer the question, instead turning and walking away towards her daughter; not in the position to be questioning the queen, Akko followed behind.

When Her Highness bent back up from her praying position, her eyes were glowing aqua, glazed over and viewing something no one else could see.

She suddenly snapped out of it with a jerk, looking around wildly with a flush to her cheeks.

"Welcome back my child, were you having visions?" The queen spoke softly, tilting her head.

The princess bit down lightly on her lip. "Y-Yes..."

"Anything interesting?" Akko joined in with a friendly smile.

"NO!"


	12. Piscoria's Light

**-oOo-**

Her Highness's red-faced outburst was quickly moved on from, both the queen and the defender recognizing that goading an explanation would be impossible.

Her Benevolence stepped away, back towards the statue of Capella, leaving Sucy and her shield to quietly pay respects to the Nine. Going counter clockwise around the room, the pair bowed before each, lighting the candles and sprinkling incense over the open flame.

Her Highness lingered at the altar of Piscoria, her eyes drifting shut and squeezing her defender's arm tighter. Her lips moved but no sounds came out, a silent prayer for strength.

Akko watched her troubled face, taking her right hand off of her sword to gently place it on the princess'. Her Highness' eye opened slightly, scanning her shield's face before closing them again, leaning against Atsuko's shoulder.

"...In frozen gale or scorching drought, thy kindness remains an infinite spring." Her silent prayer became a murmur, allowing the defender into her gated of mind. Piscoria's kind smile shone down on the pair, the circlet surrounding her wavy hair giving her an angelic appearance.

"...with thy soothing melodies and gentle embrace, prithee loosen the chains that bind my heart." The defender and her charge both breathed in simultaneously, taking in the sweet scent of burning flowers. Akko had never experienced such a mixture of smells, scents that you wished to breathe in again, yet at the same time did not.

"...Allow me a moment's peace." Her Highness's prayer completed on a somber note, one that caused a slight clench in her shield's chest.

The girl's expression was downcast when she opened her eyes, focused intently on the slowly burning candle wick.

"Such guilt I feel. That here, in the midst of such a difficult time for everyone around me..." She trailed off, the mischievous twinkle that was almost always in her eyes vanishing; leaving them dull.

Akko had always been slightly annoyed at Her Highness' antics, but now faced with the alternative, she preferred the teasing.

"I find myself smiling more than ever before." It was a brutally honest admission, the princess huffing a sardonic laugh. "My people are living in fear, a friend is without a home and both of her parents, and here I am having fun."

Picking up the princess' hand from her bicep, Akko brought it to her mouth pressing a gentle kiss before meeting Her Highness' eyes. "There never a need to be guilty for happiness, Your Highness. Being by your side is a nice distraction from my problems, and I'm sure your people find it easier to bear their own when you smile for them."

She smiled at the royal, squeezing her hand. "But I'm so honoured someone like me could make a princess even a little happier."

Princess Sucy chuckled, leaning back against the defender's shoulder with a small but genuine grin. "Don't flatter yourself."

The last two statues were paid the proper respect before the pair began making their way to the side of Her Benevolence.

"Returning to the castle?" The queen asked before they were even halfway, looking up from her spot at the base of Capella's statue. Her eyes were closed, but sight limitations didn't seem to be an issue with any of the Manbavaran Line.

"Yes. Goodbye mother; thank you for allowing us this time." Her Highness bowed slightly even though the queen couldn't see it. "We shall see each other again soon."

"Dinner?" Her Benevolence asked hopefully, a warm smile creasing her lips. "It would be just lovely to share another family meal."

"Perhaps mother." The princess responded after a second's pause, beginning to pull her shield towards the stairs. "Until then!" She seemed eager to leave, perhaps wishing to flee from her problems or whatever it was that caused her to flush as she did.

Being pulled between too royals, Atsuko made a quick downward bow to respectfully bid the queen goodbye. "Farewell, Your Benevolence."

The high priestess nodded once in recognition, before lowering her head back to Capella's altar. "Farewell, most loyal defender. Do keep my words in mind."

As if she could ever forget.

Exiting out into the main room; drawing attention from the parishioners, Her Highness's expression became thoughtful, her eyes drifting upward to the elaborate designs on the roof. "Thy father..." She began, mulling over the correct choice. "Dost... thou wish to visit him? There has been a lack of opportunity until now."

Akko's brows dropped, her mouth opening slightly. "I-Is that allowed? I i'm supposed to be your guard, following your wishes, not my own."

The princess' grip shifted, her neutral pout growing into a smile. "Why of course." She replied with amusement. "I wish to visit my poor injured peasants, and you are simply there to protect me."

Loopholes didn't sound professional to the defender, but the flame inside her did not protest. She was eager to see her father again, to check on his condition, but taking the princess out into more public areas sparked unease in the pit of her stomach. The castle was one thing, with hundreds of guards posted at every entrance, the village was another: no one would be there to help her, she would have to protect Sucy herself.

Her right hand drifted downward, clutching the hilt of Claiomh Solais tightly. The magical embers in her chest cavity glowed warmer, a more soothing heat than the usual burn; a voice echoed in the very back of her mind, sounding disturbingly like herself.

_'Claiomh Solais is under your control... Enemies of The Crown shall lay broken at your feet.'_

It filled her with an odd reassurance, confidence that her abilities were enough, but beneath it was fear: His Majesty's magic could affect the very way the defender thought and felt. Who knew what else could be of His design?

'It doesn't matter...' Despite any alterations the king had made, the desire to defend the princess was her own; she would never let go of it.

"If that is what you wish, Your Highness."

Princess Sucy stopped her when they reached the exit of the temple, looking up at the brunette's face. She seemed happy, that kind of melancholic joy a rainy day brings.

Her hand instinctively reached up to run the back of her knuckles against the shield's cheek. "You are loyal, Akko. But you should not be bereft of your family and friends, not even for a beautiful maiden such as myself." Akko's face warmed under the princess' touch, a mixture of her rapidly beating heart and the chilly wind just beyond the threshold.

"Now come, dearest defender." She ordered, flipping up her hood. "Your father's injuries may not be beyond my assistance."

**-oOo-**

After leaving the temple, the pair made a short detour to the castle in order to pinpoint exactly which building Mr Kagari currently resided in. The refugees of Torinosu were brought to one of the hospitals on the eastern side of town, but neither Akko nor the princess had been told which.

"Y-Your Highness." The servant returned with a sheet of paper, an address written carefully in cursive. Her Highness took the paper, reading it aloud with a thoughtful hum. "Saint Ursula's near the eastern gate."

Akko bowed her head slightly to the boy. "You have Her Highness' thanks, young one."

He visibly brightened, smiling at the pair widely before bowing to the princess and scampering off.

Detour goal completed, Defender Kagari and the princess wordlessly left the castle keep for the hospital, Atsuko ready at a moment's notice to fight and die in the royal's defense.

Her Highness' tiara was sufficiently hidden underneath her large hood, but every so often a villager recognized the cloak by it's furry mantle and Akko had to stare them down. Her gaze wasn't threatening or malicious, but simply a show of acknowledgement; that they had been spotted and would not be allowed to approach.

Throughout the whole journey, the princess soothed gently with a firm hand against the defender's bicep, a constant reminder of her continued presence. "One who puts their duty above all is truly admirable." Her Highness murmured, keeping her eyes on the path ahead. It was a strange feeling to be sure, enjoying being protected and served but at the same time not. "But please do relax; enjoy the sights with me."

Their eyes met, the princess' having regained a bit of their sparkle. "The ground crunches too much for anyone to sneak up on us. Even for one as deaf as you." A huff of hot air escaped the royal's mouth- half of a teasing chuckle that manifested as a thin cloud of smoke.

Akko breathed in the chilly afternoon air, feeling the blood pumping across her lungs quickly warm it to body temperature. Lifting her chin, she blew it back up into the sky, the moisture in her breath condensing into a smoke like vapour.

The sun shone down through the plume, and Akko had to squint her eyes, watching as the microscopic droplets of water shimmered as they dispersed.

Warmth touched her red and chilly nose, beams of light melting through the touch of winter. Giving herself this time to actually think, Akko decided that a muffler- something thick and woolly -would do her good.

"How would I look in a cape, Your Highness?" She suddenly blurted out, focusing her gaze on a pair of melting icicles, the way the sun refracted through them and down onto the snow bank below.

"A cape?" The princess looked off to the side as if imagining it. "I've seen you wear a cloak properly many times... and improperly a few times more." Her eyes fell shut with a smirk, letting the shield guide her down the side street.

"It would certainly suit your ambitious lifestyle. Why do you ask?"

The defender caught glimpse of a fantasy- of herself in resplendent white armour, a red cape flowing from her shoulders. Far into the future, she would stand at the side of the newly crowned Queen Sucy, forever protecting her.

"If I am to be your shield, I must look my very best."

Her Highness puffed a laugh, releasing another cloud of vapor into the afternoon air. "Your best you say? Well I look forward to it."

Their small talk came to a close just as they turned the last corner, the building ahead sporting an identical address to that on the paper they had been given.

"We've arrived safely." The princess smiled, signalling Akko to step ahead and open the door for her.

"After you, milady." She bowed, gesturing into the hospital with her other arm.

Her Highness gripped the shield's nose as she passed by, squeezing slightly and smirking. "So polite."

Akko couldn't even frown at the royal, the way her eyes regained their twinkle releasing a grip on the defender's heart. Her job was to protect the princess, protect her health and well being, but there was another duty, placed upon her by the queen herself: protect Her Highness' smile.

Through war, death, or greatest tragedy, she would bleed to protect that smile.

**-oOo-**

It was quite the emotional ordeal to find Atsuko's father. walking through the rather open plan building with one of the nurses, they witnessed a man with leprosy; skin cracked and broken, hands heavily deformed, simply struggling to walk; they witnessed a woman with a tellingly round stomach, sobbing in the corner and holding a baby that would die within her.

The princess' eyes closed sorrowfully, hugging tight to her defender's arm; Akko could only clench her jaw and keep walking forward.

Stone of heart she was not, and would never be.

"We've done the best we could, Your Highness." The doctor said, gesturing into a large room filled with familiar faces. Mr Norihiko sat on the wooden floor, his ears pink and glassy as frostbite ate into them. The man from the general store was missing two fingers, grey stumps where they used to be.

"The species of fungi you provided us with contains the spread of any infection to its host, and does seem to slow the decay of frostbitten tissues, but some of these people are damaged beyond medicinal repair."

Mr Kagari lay on a mat, a thick woolly blanket covering his entire body save for the head, which was tilted to the left and missing a significant amount of hair. Parts of his hair had been cut away in order to reveal a nasty looking dark patch on the back of his head, his skull slightly flatter in that area thanks to a golem's icy fists.

"Papa!" Akko called out, quickly making her way to his side and kneeling down.

"He has been lapsing in and out of consciousness." The doctor explained, moving to stand next to the oriental man's head. "We believe he may have suffered a contusion of some sort."

He was rather crestfallen after speaking, like the injury described was a forgone conclusion; this made Defender Kagari rather anxious, a voice in the back of her head whispering things she would rather not think about.

_'It's over... Both parents taken... Mother dead... Father dying..."_

She sat down next to the princess, one hand taking her father's, the other assisting Princess Sucy in applying some of her special goo to his injury.

Once a generous amount of gel was spread across the bruised and blackened skin, Her Highness took a tiny glob, pressing it between her palms and rubbing.

"Let us hope my prayer to the altar of Piscoria has bostered her gift."

Her Highness closed her eyes, holding her hands up like she was about to pray before a pink glow began to shine through her shut lids. Her hands parted and hovered over the aged man's head, tiny pink embers circling her fingers; a larger glow enveloping her palms.

"As we feared... Cranial Contusion. A bruise on his brain." The princess explained, sending a pang of panic through Akko's chest; people rarely survived serious brain injury, and those that did were forever changed by the incident. But if anyone could help, it would be Her Highness; so Akko believed, holding her father's hand and watching silently.

"I will be able to prevent swelling, but his vision may remain limited."

The princess' healing light washed over the man's head, glowing brighter with each passing second. She focused the light at the back of his head, tensing a single finger before letting it fade.

With the light, so to did the ugly black bruise disappear, Akko's father's skull ballooning back out to its natural curvature and staying there.

The defender smiled down at her father, the way his face once creased with pain became peaceful, Her Highness' gentle and soothing power closing the purple gash and returning it to its natural olive.

Some of the other patients had limped over to watch, their eyes filling with hope at the sight of Piscoria's gift.

The princess looked each of them in the eyes, sorrowful expression turning into one of determination. She looked with still glowing eyes at her palms, clenching them into fists.

"Gather all who require Her light." She spoke to the staff, voice stern and commanding. "I was given this gift to heal, and so heal I shall."

Some were pushed in on their rolling beds, others limping on wooden prostheses, some crawled towards her in desperation; but eventually the entire room was packed. They stood together in a circle around her, the tiny glimmers in their eyes, last strings of hope that they clung to, steeling the Chosen heir's resolve.

Her Highness stood from her spot of the floor, closed eyes leaking pink embers, her hands wreathed in the light of Piscoria.

Her palms touched together for a moment before they separated, only her wrists staying in their place. Appearing between her hands as they opened was a gorgeous pink flower, like the lotuses in spring. The princess opened her eyes for a moment to appreciate the beauty she held; within the next moment she blew, sending the petals outward to dance and twirl in the air.

Tilting her head up towards the ceiling, the princess closed her eyes once more, extending her hands outward at her sides, fingers burning with fuchsia flame. Petals circled around her body, seemingly multiplying before spreading out to each person in the room.

Akko stared at her hand, at the petals swirling around her; watched as the entire room was bathed in light not dissimilar from a summer sunset, a gorgeous pink glow that enveloped all.

When the pink light subsided, the sick, the injured, every citizen of Luna that had struggled to simply stand before her, stared in awe at themselves. Bones had been mended, infections purged, pain obliterated, leaving behind only a gentle warmth and memories of things lost.

The elderly man would live to see his nephew grow, Akko's father would live to witness his daughter at the right hand of the next queen, the child would live to be born, her friends and neighbours would not fall to the winter.

"Your Highness..." One of the nurses murmured, her eyes looking glassy and moist, almost as if tears were threatening to spill over.

The princess blinked, falling to her knees in exhaustion, looking around at the smiling faces of those she had healed, her mouth falling slightly open. She looked down to her hands, to the tiny pink embers dying on her skin, in total disbelief of her abilities.

Akko however, shared no such disbelief, clicking her heels together and saluting with vigor, her unending gratitude emerging as a mighty call that reverberated against the stone walls.

"Saved are we, by the light of Piscoria! Hail to the Nine! And to their Chosen!"

The patients, doctors, and refugees present, echoed her words, opening their arms up to the sky in a prayer. To the Nine for their gifts, to the princess that had given them a second chance.

**"Hail to the Nine! And to their Chosen!"**


	13. A Glimpse of Death

**-oOo-**

The next few days within Castle Manbavaran passed by in a blur for the defender: practicing in the morning with Swordmaster O'Neil, entering Her Highness' room just as Lotte was pouring morning tea, and then accompanying the heir to Luna on whatever duties were lined up for the day.

The routine was eventually interrupted, as all patterns are destined to be; when Atsuko climbed her way up the stairs towards Her Highness' bedside, the ginger servant girl had yet to pour anything- but for a good reason.

Her Highness' eyes were wide open as she lay amongst the soft wool and silken sheets, bright aqua glow indicating that the girl did not see the ceiling above her. Dealing with more than a simple vision, bright blue tears streaked down the princess' face, dissipating into tiny embers once they left her skin.

Lotte seemed visibly upset from Her Highness' distressed face, the way she whimpered softly breaking something in the girl's chest.

Akko knew the feeling.

"Please..." The princess begged to someone unseen. "No more..."

Not wishing to stand idly by for a moment longer, the shield placed a hand on Miss Yanson's shoulder to announce her presence before pulling up her usual chair and taking a seat at the princess' side. Carefully extracting the royal's hand from beneath the many layers, Akko wrapped it in both of her own, creating an anchor point for Her Highness to grab hold of.

"Why..." She whimpered again, closing her eyes at the warm and familiar touch. "Why must I see such things..."

The defender tried her best to soothe the burdened princess, rubbing a circular pattern on the back of her hand with a thumb. It was more to make herself feel a little better, as in the end it was up to the Lady of the Blue Moon when the vision would be over.

"No more..."

It was multiple minutes before the aqua glow faded from behind Her Highness' eyelids, causing them to snap open, the ruby orbs beneath frantically darting around the room.

A quick squeeze to the princess' fingers reinforced the anchor to reality, reminding her of what was 'here' and 'now'.

Turning her head to find the source of the pressure on her fingers, Princess Sucy's eyes seemed to widen at the sight of her shield, like she didn't expect the brunette to be there.

"Good morning, Your Highness." Akko greeted politely, a warm reassuring smile calming the girl's panicked mind. "Would you like some tea?"

Lotte jerked, understanding the signal to get to work and hopping to it. She lifted the steaming teapot, pouring a healthy amount into Her Highness' favourite mug and offering it with a bow.

The defender was just about to remove her hands from Her Highness' to allow her to accept the teacup, but the princess tightened her grasp, refusing to let go. Reading Her Highness' stiff expression, Akko allowed her left hand to stay, balancing the cup and saucer in the other and ferrying it to the princess' grip.

"Would you like anything else Your Highness?" The servant girl asked with a tilt of her head, lifting her tray of supplies with one arm. "The kitchen just took fresh bread rolls out of the oven."

Her Highness gave a forced and fake smile, similar to the one the defender gave to her "That would be lovely Miss Yanson, my thanks." The entire interaction between the three women was tense and fake, each of them trying to reassure the others with tight lipped smiles and words that were trying too hard to sound normal.

"And for yourself, Defender Kagari?"

It took a few seconds for Atsuko to realize that she was being spoken too, her first words stumbling over themselves. "Ah- uh- no. I've already eaten breakfast, t-that's perfectly fine." Plus the princess was likely to share whatever she did not eat, feeding to her shield as she often did out of enjoyment for the action- no matter how much she may try to deny it.

"Very well." The servant girl bowed and quietly left the room, leaving the heir to Luna and her loyal shield alone.

Their eyes met, red against red, an unspoken conversation passing between them.

_'Do you want to talk about it?'_

_'Not if I can help it."_

_'If something bad is going to happen I would like to know.'_

The princess sighed, squeezing her shield's fingers tighter and closing her eyes in defeat. Her head tilted downwards, veil of pink hair hiding her sorrowful expression from the world.

"I..." She stared shakily before stopping herself, taking a breath, and trying again. "I don't know when it happens..."

_A cold wind blows harshly against her face, stinging the white skin of her weak and lethargic body. Blood is soaking through her dress, a deep gash in her side showing no sign of stopping. She holds a hand tight to the wound in a pointless attempt to prevent the inevitable loss of consciousness a lack of blood causes._

_Bodies lay in the snow around her, pale and still: innocent civilians, their lives cut short by a force that was utterly indifferent to them, crushed like ants._

"But we..." The pressure on Defender Kagari's hand increased to an almost painful amount, but she did not pull away; self sacrifice for the crown was her job after all.

_The town was deathly silent, her cries for help echoing in the empty streets, almost mocking her as she stumbled towards the town square._

_Hundreds of ice shards littered the ground like blades of grass, many of them piercing through more unlucky townsfolk. No blood trickled out, as sheer lack of temperature was enough to solidify the life giving red liquid within, killing them long before._

"You..." The princess simply could not bring herself to say it, the reality seemingly too horrible to bear.

_Finally, in the centre of town, she found what she had been searching for._

_Collapsed against the central fountain, surrounded by the defeated ruins of icy constructs large and small, was a lone knight, sword held tight in her rigored hand._

_Defender Kagari's bright red eyes were dull and empty, her usually flushed pink skin white as the snow that was building up on her corpse._

Metaphorically tearing off the bandage, Her Highness opened her eyes, looking her shield directly in the eyes.

"The beast attacks the castle."

Shock and horror came to Akko in waves, images of what happened in Torinosu but on a larger scale: innocent lives snuffed out before being puppeted to do the same to others, homes destroyed, families ripped apart. She imagined young children cowering within partly destroyed buildings, their bodies slowly freezing to death with no chance of escape; no knight with a flaming sword to save them.

"You fight to the last, but in the end..." The princess' resolve crumbled, her gaze dropping back down to the rapidly cooling teacup in her lap. "We both die. Me shortly after you."

The prospect of failure infuriated the flame in the shield's chest, her oath of protection lashing out violently and causing no small amount of pain. Despite all the fire and heat, she felt cold inside, like the evil beast of winter had already taken her, left her empty and dead.

A pregnant pause was shared between the two as they let the new information marinate within their minds. When one knew of a disastrous future, did they struggle against a fate that may be set in stone, or make the most of what little time remained?

Her Highness was the first to decide on an answer, turning to look at her loyal friend with misty eyes. "I will not allow this to happen." She declared with a determined- if shaky- voice, angry embers smoldering behind her tear filled gaze.

"My people rely on the power of the Nine to protect and lead them."

The princess' pressure of the defender's hand grew to pain, the tips of her fingers turning pale from lack of blood. She did not pull back or complain however, self-sacrifice for the good of the Crown was her literal job description after all.

"Their trust must not be betrayed."

Defender Kagari watched as a single tear slipped down the princess cheek and dripped on to her blanket, creating a slightly darker patch amongst the cotton.

"What do you want to do?" She asked, leaning over and offering her handkerchief for the princess to dab away the tears; while she did, bending over to kiss her knuckles sweetly.

When all of the water had been wiped away, Her Highness straightened her spine, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "Cirenia in her sight has given us forewarning, we must take advantage of it."

Her Highness handed her nearly empty teacup to her shield, releasing her white and bloodless fingers and shifting to the edge of the bed. And once the defender had finished off said cup of tea, the princess reached her arms up in a catlike stretch, purposefully accenting her neck and collarbones to goad a reaction from her shield.

"My father must be notified." The princess began, tiny smile growing into a grin at the sight of Akko's light pink blush. "But I will need assistance getting ready."

The defender tried her best to avert her eyes, placing the empty mug on the side table. "Your H-Highness..." She stuttered. "You shouldn't make such... r-revealing movements when in the presence of l-lowly company like myself."

Scooting closer so that her legs dangled over the edge of the bed, the princess reached a hand towards her loyal knight's face. "Hush Akko..." She soothed, stroking the defender's quickly reddening cheek. "You are trusted with my life, why should you not be trusted with the sight of skin?"

"I- But-" Akko tried and failed to come up with an answer, stuttering and flapping her mouth uselessly.

The princess chuckled, pulling her hand away from the shield's warm and soft face, instead holding it out in front of her in request. "Exactly."

Admitting defeat, Akko acquiesced to the princess' commands carefully helping her down from the large bed to touch down on the carpet.

Her Highness took step closer, feeling the chill of the morning air and leeching off of her embarrassed defender's radiating body heat. "Hug me." She suddenly commanded, pressing her cheek against Akko's shoulder. "Surrender your internal temperatures for the glory of Luna!"

Orders were orders, and Defender Kagari found herself following similar orders more often from one day to the next. The princess seemed to treat gestures of affection as required duties; whether it was a respectful kiss on the hand, a tender cupping of the cheek, or a hug, her natural royal pride was always kept in tact.

"Mmm... Warm..." Sucy hummed as her shield's arms wrapped around her like a blanket of gentle fire, heat seeping through her thin nightgown and down into her skin.

Defender Kagari's mouth felt dry, her muscles stiff, as her brain went into meltdown. The worries and dangers of a future close by vanished, replaced by the sights and scents of the crown princess of Luna.

Her nose was assaulted with the sweet scent of Her Highness' lovely puce hair as it tickled her skin: earthy soaps combined with the light natural scent all human beings had. Her hands were frozen against Her Highness' back, only a single layer of silk between the princess' skin and hers, the soft and smooth skin beneath tempting her brain with corrupt thoughts.

She felt lightheaded.

"Your heart is pounding like a galloping horse." Her Highness said with a teasing chuckle. "I'm flattered I have that affect on you." She looked up from the shield's neck to meet her ruby red eyes, grinning widely, each pearly white shark tooth interlocked with the next.

"No- I uh- I wasn't-" Akko stumbled over each word, growing redder by the second as the princess began to cackle.

Laughter shook through her body, vibrating into the defender's shoulder when she pressed her face back against it. "Such an adorable idiot."

Akko's sheer embarrassment and redness only added to the available store of body heat that the princess could steal, her dastardly plan blossoming beautifully.

"And so easily exploitable."

The flustered shield kept her mouth shut, resting her forehead on Her Highness' shoulder. It was simply too much to keep her mind active, instead devolving down to autopilot and holding the royal tight.

It stayed that way for the entirety of Her Highness' morning routine.

**-oOo-**

"And then I awoke."

King Ataas clenched his jaw, a tiny indent appearing near his temples as his daughter finished her recount of the vision. "Thou'rt sure this be the sight of Cirenia?" He asked. It was clear to all present in the throne room that this was not a legitimate question, rather a hopeful plea for someone, anyone, to show uncertainty or tell him no.

But alas.

"No, Your Majesty." Akko spoke up with a deep bow of her head. "Both Lotte Yanson and myself can attest to the signs of Cirenia's gift."

The king shifted forward slightly, the desperate hope dimming from his eyes as another boulder was added to the pile atop his shoulders. "Of course." He hummed, mainly to himself. "Foolish of me to assume otherwise."

His Majesty paced lightly away from his throne, looking at the stained glass windows above in thought. He snapped his fingers, pointing at one of the many servants and advisors lining the room and beckoning them over.

"Compose a letter to Captain Hanbridge, inform him of the details." He ordered, keeping his gaze skyward. "Summon the royal alchemist as well, I wish to speak with her."

Princess Sucy, who had kept quiet since completing the recount of her vision, took another step forward. "If I may, Father..." She began, awaiting permission to continue.

Finally tearing his eyes away from one particularly frosty window, the king looked to his daughter and nodded. "Continue."

"This vision has greatly increased the need Luna has for the Tenth..." Atsuko's left ear twitched, ready to eagerly soak up further information and obtain more pieces of the puzzle. The princess had spoke before of the ten gifts an heir to Luna must receive to become ruler, but had left out details on what exactly each of those abilities were.

His Majesty seemed to close his eyes midway through his daughter's words, the small indent appearing on his forehead indicating a clenched jaw.

"...I would like to formally request that my training be expedited."

The king turned to face the pair, hands folding behind his back. It took a second or two for his uncovered eye to creak open,

"I understand the need for such things; the Tenth is unusable to me in my old age." An unsaid conjunction hung in the air like fog, His Majesty's shaking head and refusal not far behind.

"The request is denied." He stated simply, face hard as stone, forehead wrinkled with stress.

"B-But Father!" A frustrated stutter ripped its way out of the young royal, her noble speak slipping away for a moment. "We need it! I- I can learn- train harder! We can increase the exposure therapy!"

The frustration waned somewhat as she took a step back, nervously stroking a lock of her purple hair. "I- I mean, my hair and skin have been affected but..." She paused, hands moving up to the hair covering her eye and fidgeting with a strand.

Her stuttered words caused two specific neurons in the shield's brain to brush together, a realization finally connecting. His Majesty's hair was black; the queen's, a brown. There was no way for purple hair to come from such parents.

Unless the child wasn't born like that.

"We must be able to protect our citizens! They trust us, you can't just-"

"Enough!" The king's booming voice cut his daughter off. "The Tenth is not something that can be rushed into; it is not something one can learn to control!" The flame within Akko's chest cowered at its creator's anger, dimming to a shallow ember before reigniting.

Her Highness shrunk back, stepping closer to the shield to grab onto her arm. Her eyes were downcast, burning holes into the immaculate tile flooring, not daring to look her father in the eye again.

"Thou shalt be granted the Tenth when thou'rt ready. Until then, continue with thy studies, the exposure levels are sufficient as is."

The princess- eyes hidden behind her hair -relented, wrapping her other arm around her shield's bicep. "Yes Father..."

His Majesty breathed out, the tension in his face relaxing ever so slightly. "One day, when the Tenth is in thy possession, thou wilt understand. Dismissed."

Atsuko bowed her head as low as possible to bid farewell without causing her charge unnecessary discomfort. "Your Majesty."

As soon as the pair exited the throne room, the princess leaned against the defender, a palpable disgruntled aura emanating off of her. The shield did not instigate conversation, giving Her Highness all the time she needed to cool off.

"Stupid old man..." She grumbled, hugging her loyal servant tighter. "Of course I'm ready for it, why wouldn't I be?"

Those in the hallways of the castle gave them a wide berth; Her Highness aura of anger visible from afar, creating a tension that was thick enough to cut through with a knife.

"If you get hurt because he didn't give it up, there's going to be a new ruler quicker than planned."

Akko gulped as quietly as possible, a single bead of sweat dripping down her forehead. _'Scary...'_ Though restrained, it was a similar tone of voice to after the council meeting; her teeth grit, voice grumbly.

"Turn left here, we're not going back to the room." The princess ordered when they came to the T junction before her tower, refusing to take the lead and instead barking out directions whenever necessary.

It took an extraordinary amount of backbone to break her own silence, but the defender successfully spoke up. "Might I ask where we are headed? She asked hesitantly.

"To try on clothes."

Akko nodded, moving with an energy in each step; along as it would make the princess smile again, she would do anything.


	14. Like a Lake at Midnight

**-oOo-**

Trying on clothes was a vague enough statement that Akko didn't have strong feelings either way about participating. It was a normal thing noble girls did for fun, and though reserved as Her Highness was, she certainly cared about looking nice.

The defender's position changed when Her Highness let go of her arm and servants began ushering her towards the centre of the dressing room.

"Y-Your Highness?" She stuttered in objection, though not exactly struggling against the servants as they skillfully undid the many belts that fastened her leather armour. If the princess had asked them to do this, Akko could do little but let it happen; swallowing her pride at Her Highness' impish grin.

The heir to Luna sat in a chair next to the tall mirror, resting her perfectly shaped chin in her hand. "...Yeees?" She drawled with amusement, finally responding to the call nearly a minute late.

"A-Are you- r-really going to watch?" The shield of the princess flushed deeply as layer by layer her clothes were tossed aside.

Her Highness didn't respond, instead taking long look from the floor, up Akko's now rather bare legs, up her stomach and chest to finally arrive at the girl's bright red face.

"But of course.." She hummed in an strangely low tone before clearing her throat and clarifying. "I simply must see how my pet project looks on thee."

Defender Kagari was about to inquire what exactly she was going to be modeling off when a wooden mannequin exactly her size was rolled into the room.

Vibrant blood red, cool steel grey, a hint of blue here and there; it was perfect.

The torso was covered in finely crafted scale, protecting vital areas from attack; the tunic flaring out just a little longer to stop just below where her legs would meet. A set of leather belts wrapped around the hips and up around the back to support the weight of both the scale mail and the single pauldron protecting the left shoulder.

She could barely see where the straps ended however, as a beautiful wool cloak fluttered down from around the mannequin's neck, the hood bunched up just enough to be easily utilized as a muffler when the weather became too harsh.

The sleeves were rather puffy, streaks of blue came down from the shoulders, following the bends and folds of the white fabric to dissapear beneath a set of fine gloves capped with metal up to the knuckles.

Fine white tights and maroon steel toed boots completed the look, metal plates cupping the outer thighs to prevent a repeat of one of the injuries that landed her in the princess' care in the first place.

With every detail, Akko felt another tug of affection in her chest. Everything was taken into account, from the places where she had been injured before, to which shoulder she liked out in front during combat, to the cape she asked for.

"Is it to thy liking?" The princess asked, breaking her defender's silent awe. "As delectable as this view may be, I still wish to see thee in it."

Another hot round of blood flushed through the shield's skin as the servants carefully relieved the mannequin's burden. The amount Her Highness teased and seemingly flirted with the girl was almost too much to bear; Akko wanted to curl up and die.

The thick tights and tunic were the first to put on, soft white fabrics kissing the defender's skin as it went over her head and up her legs simultaneously. The servants were efficient, helping her into the boots and second layer with practiced skill, clearly having spent their entire lives doing the same for nobles and high knights.

Both gauntlets went on at the same time, the cinched end of her puffy sleeves stopping perfectly short of the tightest band of leather. With everything but the armour and cape on, Akko slowly turned herself in a circle for the princess to scrutinize.

She seemed pleased, taking another few head to toe scans "Simply dashing." The royal complimented with a genuine grin. "Thou shalt be fighting off suitors left and right."

"I- uh-" Akko stuttered, stopping after a failed first attempt to think of the proper words.

Red faced and spine straight she finally composed a full sentence. "I am f-forever your sword and s-shield, Your Highness. No suitor c-could ever compare."

"Mmm, lucky me..." Her Highness grinned, signalling the servants to continue and attach the defender's armour.

Belts tightened steel plates around the brunette's outer thighs, another set of straps around her shoulders and waist to bear the weight of the scale mail. Akko felt the weight, grinning maniacally at how right it felt to be covered in steel; physical weight to match the weight of her duty.

The blood red cape went over her head, fabric slipping perfectly into leather slits and beneath the pauldron on her shoulder.

Finally a servant reached up to add the rest of the defender's hair to her topknot, creating a full bun. With the hair out of her defender's face, the princess raised a hand, ordering the girls to step aside so that Atsuko could look into the mirror.

Looking back with equally wide eyes from within the reflective glass, a woman stood; her sparkling ruby eyes and youthful cheeks the only traces of who she was before.

Many different things bubbled to her lips before vanishing, so much to say but none of it feeling good enough. Exactly a month and a half ago, she was washing Chariot's armour and training her sword swings with a stick; now, looking at herself, the defender was simply shaken.

"Its one thing to accept the job, its another thing to see yourself in the uniform." Her Highness' voice sounded out very close to the brunette's ear.

The girl jumped, looking around at the suddenly empty dressing room. It seemed while she had been staring at herself in awe, the princess had dismissed her servants and stood.

"The rest of the castle is focused on readying defenses." The princess explained, hugging Akko from behind and leaning to look at the shield's face in the mirror. "It would have been a while until you received your proper uniform, so I arranged it myself."

Defender Kagari looked rightward, meeting Her Highness' gaze; a tiny smile to match her grin. Before she could even think about whether or not it was a good idea, Akko spun around, grabbing the princess and holding her tight.

She felt Her Highness freeze up immediately upon physical contact, breath catching in the royal's throat. The tiny vulnerable noise felt like a slap to the face and the defender visibly recoiled.

"Ah- Y-Your Highness I-" She stuttered, attempting to take a step back before delicate fingers dug into her new uniform.

"We will discuss your breach of protocol at a later date." Sucy grumbled, resting her face on the shoulder that was not covered in metal. "But for now I shall accept this."

**-oOo-**

After a tender moment and subsequent lecture on personal space by the crown princess, Atsuko found herself once again attached at the bicep to her hypocritical charge. Together they walked through the hallways of the castle, enjoying the quiet air and scent of flowers as snowflakes gently danced through the skies outside.

"I have read the study journals of my predecessors before." The princess said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence. "As a part of my own studies."

"The initial hope was that such knowledge would allow myself to be better prepared to accept the Tenth, but..." The royal's words trailed off, eyes glazing over as she became submersed in her thoughts.

His Majesty seemed firmly against the notion of his daughter receiving the final power; for what reason, Atsuko could not know. Certainly if the gift could protect the kingdom against the approaching frozen legion, and if the king could no longer harness it, the next logical step would be to hand it down to his successor.

"If I may ask, Your Highness." The defender began, shaking the princess from her inevitably upsetting thoughts in the hope of keeping her occupied. "Why ten? There are only nine goddesses we worship, why is there an extra gift?"

It was a legitimate question, and one that had bothered the defender ever since the concept of gifts had been brought up that morning in the flower garden. From there Akko often spent time thinking of the mural in the council chamber, of the nine gifts shown there and lack of a tenth.

"I have not yet been given the honour of this information; neither had most of my predecessors prior to receiving it." Defender Kagari's ears twitched at the addition of 'most of' to the princess' answer, the potential for one heir to the throne to know more of the Tenth than any other sparking her natural human curiosity.

The princess took at least a minute to continue, seeing her shield's eagerness for information and purposefully dangling it in front of her for just long enough to tease.

"Her Highness Princess Vajarois." Her Highness finally elaborated, relaxing against the defender's arm; signalling her to return to the room with a flash of blue. "It seems her predecessor was far more transparent with the topic; I assume out of necessity for the power to be handed down quickly."

She paused giving ample time for the her defender to fully absorb the words and for herself to properly create strings of new ones. The name Vajarois rang bells in Akko's head: vague memories of books she had read many years ago, speaking of a princess lost.

"The Tenth is the power of a great beast, with strength to rival that of entire armies. Previous rulers of Luna have used it to crush invasion forces and conquer land." Her Highness' explanation put His Majesty's hesitation into understandable context: power so immense required caution and care.

Her Highness apparently held the same train of thought, much to her annoyance. Scowling and stubbornly pushing it aside, the royal heir continued to speak. "From what Vajarois understood, it appears that this power is not of the Nine themselves and was not among the original gifts given to the very first Chosen."

Walking up the stairs of Her Highness' tower, the defender asked the correct next question.

"Then where did it come from?"

The question went unanswered as their arrival at the princess' bedroom door was met with multiple jars of fungi. They sat neatly next to her stone guardians, mushrooms of many shapes and colours, some even glowing in the darkness of the tower.

"Ah!" The princess exclaimed, removing herself from her shield and gliding over to the packages, bending down to examine one. "I remember asking for these. I haven't been allowed out of the town walls in some time."

Akko nodded, outstretching her arms to accept the burden, smiling slightly at the way the princess' eye sparkled at the sight of the specimens. As the defender had sussed out and Her Highness had eventually explained, alchemy was a personal hobby of hers; something she took great joy and pride in.

The whole reason the two of them even had the chance of meeting was a simple outing to gather alchemical ingredients; one that turned out to be not so simple in the end.

"Would you like to spend the rest of the morning at your alchemy table, Your Highness?" The shield inquired once both of her arms were full. "Lessons with Scholar Lukic aren't until this afternoon."

Princess Sucy looked up from the remaining jar in her arms, meeting her shield's eyes. "Are you going to assist me?" She responded, answering a question with a question.

"Of course, Your Highness." Akko bowed carefully as to not drop the surprisingly heavy glass jars in her grip. The princess smiled, opening the door for them both to enter her bedroom.

As soon as they made it to the table, Her Highness abandoned the glass jar on the floor and made her way towards the stairs. "Just put those down there. We're processing today." She ordered with a stretch, reaching one arm up to the ceiling and bending the other over the top of her head. "I need to get my protective wear."

Her Highness' alchemy table was always so brightly coloured: shades of sickly green and regal purple within vials of all shapes and sizes; it was truly beautiful. She had never before been permitted to touch anything on the table; instead usually assisted by retrieving ingredients from the shelf or, when the princess was feeling more mischievous than usual, ingesting the brew to test its effects.

Nerve toxins that caused near full body paralysis, poisons that simulated the fight or flight response, potions that blinded, potions that made her unable to see anything but the princess; the defender tested them all.

Her Highness walked back down the stairs dressed in more appropriate attire: A blacksmith's thick leather apron covered her body down to the ankles, long gloves stretching up to her elbows.

She seemed nervous when finally standing next to the shield, rubbing the knuckles of her covered index fingers together while a black ribbon hung down from her left pinky.

"Last- Last time didn't end well..." She struggled to admit, avoiding the defender's eyes. Defender Kagari nodded slowly, remembering the smell of burning hair and the sound of Her Highness' panicked screaming.

"C-Can you tie up my hair for me? All of it?" Akko's eyes widened slightly, realizing what the princess was asking and what this action meant.

_All of it._

Her Highness' other eye would, for the first time, be revealed to the open air without a veil to hide it. "Your Highness..." Akko breathed, meeting the royal's nervous red eye with her own.

"I trust you with my life. I must trust you with everything else." The princess' spine straightened as she spoke, a determined expression forming on her face. Handing the ribbon to her loyal shield, she turned around, closing both eyes and breathing out air that neither of them had noticed her holding.

Removing her gauntlets, Atsuko stepped close, reaching out to grasp a lock of the princess' lovely pink hair. Her Highness' puce mane was as soft as it looked, like the clouds at the end of a summer day, and the defender continued to bundle it in her hands, feeling herself flush when her fingers brushed the royal's neck.

She struggled to tie a respectable looking bow with such nervous and shaky fingers, but eventually all of the princess' hair was up and out of her face.

With a tiny release of breath Her Highness turned around, hands clenched against her defender's armoured chest and eyes closed tightly. Not a blemish could be seen on the left side of her face, equally as beautiful as the rest of her; it left Akko in awe.

"Not yet!" The princess cried, interrupting just as her shield was about to speak. "N-Not until you see." Anxiety dripped from her lips, fear and panic not allowing her to hear the compliments until everything had been laid bare.

Atsuko steeled herself, transforming into the rock Her Highness needed her to be, resolutely lifting her hands up to hover just above the princess' cheeks. "May I?" She asked softly, channeling the princes of her favourite fairytales.

Her Highness nodded slowly, allowing the defender's warm hands to cup her face ever so gently, both eyelids relaxing as a thumb soothed just under her left.

And then they rose, lashes fluttering as both of the princess' eyes were revealed.

Black.

There was no colour within Princess Sucy's left eye, simply a dark void of nothingness where white should have been. An orb was still present within the socket, triggering a feeling of _wrong_ in the brunette's gut.

Black and red met Akko's gaze, shimmering with anxiety, searching the defender's rubies for traces of disgust or fear.

But all she found were turning gears, as puzzle pieces connected in her shield's brain. The king's eyepatch, the princess' veil of hair; with every answer there were ten more questions to be asked.

"Please say something..." Sucy whispered, her usually steady and sure voice quivering under a mountain of insecurity.

Stuffing her curiosity away for later, Defender Kagari wiped away the beginnings of a tear on the edges of the princess' eyelashes, beaming brightly like a comforting sunrise after a long dark night.

"Its really cool!"

And just like that the tension was gone, ripping a giggle from Her Highness' chest. "My dear impossible idiot..." She chuckled, nuzzling nuzzling her face into Akko's right hand. "Never says the right thing, but makes me smile anyway."

Akko's smiles were infectious, and in the past month and a half Sucy had smiled more than in all her years prior. In that moment, away from a life of formality and duty, she truly did feel like just Sucy, a young girl smiling with her best friend.

And at that moment within a place so long ago and yet to be, so far away and so close, Cirenia smiled. Behind her closed eyes she saw them doing the same, embracing eachother as they laughed, the darkness that surrounded them receding slightly.

"Cherish what is precious my young chosen..." She sighed as many less joyful futures played out simultaneously around the pair.

"For alone the beast will consume you whole."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akko's armour is heavily based on that of Princess Sharena from Fire Emblem Heroes, one of the best female armour designs out there.


	15. Servant

**-oOo-**

Standing guard in front of Scholar Lukic's door, Akko yawned, lifting a gloved fist to her mouth to cover the sight before returning it to her side. Her eyes scanned back and forth robotically, watching as servants rushed back and forth on various tasks.

Lukic was a jumpy woman, fiercely protective of her secrets and suspicious of everyone not wearing a crown. The shield had been quickly ushered out of the room once Her Highness was safely situated, a cheeky kiss blown her way when she turned to look back at the princess.

That was an hour ago, and every second crawled by as if the winter air froze the metaphysical arrow of time as it flew slowly through eternity.

The pommel of Claiomh Solais felt warm against her palm, the blade's supernatural heat sinking through her gloves. It made the defender think of Knight Chariot, of her mother and lost neighbours; doubts creeping in from parts of her mind the princess's presence usually repressed.

_'You shouldn't have this sword...'_

_'They'll die because of you...'_

_'You took too long.'_

"You look quite focused."

A second passed before Defender Kagari realized she was being talked to, jumping to come face to face with a familiar ginger servant.

Lotte Yanson.

"With us again?" She teased with a kind smile, her eyes creased with comforting warmth.

Akko blinked twice in quick succession before being yanked back to reality.

"O-Oh! Uh, yes." She stuttered, flushing at the thought of being caught slacking in her duty; Nines know what would happen if His Majesty caught wind of such negligence.

But the servant girl didn't seem bothered by Atsuko's short lapse, her smile morphing from sunny and friendly to a more patient one. "You seemed to be weighed down by something." Lotte murmured, meeting a gaze that the defender would have preferred to remain stray and disconnected.

Flicking her eyes away and then back to the servant girl, Akko tried to fish around in her mind for an excuse, but those motherly green eyes eventually broke her down.

"Just thinking about my family..." The defender sighed, eyes running to escape as Lotte closed her own in understanding.

"My father came home that night with a similar weight." Lotte explained faltering for second as Knight Yanson's haunted face flashed behind her eyes. "He told us what happened."

"To see such things happen to your birthplace... My deepest condolences."

The silence was thick around them for a moment, threatening to drag them both down into quiet sorrow before the servant girl attempted to cut through it with another gentle smile.

"But to think such darkness would give rise to such a fine shield."

Akko slowly pulled Claiomh Solais from its sheath, resting the spotless silver blade on an upturned palm for the two of them to view in reverence.

"Knight Chariot would be so proud of you."

The servant girl's words struck something deep seated in Akko's heart, forcing a wave of emotion to wash over her. For all of her boisterous goals and ideals, defeating the beast, saving the princess, becoming a hero; it all stemmed from Chariot, an idolization of her selfless nature, of her combat prowess, and a wish to be like her.

Hearing such things only further emphasized the weight in her palm.

"T-Thank you..." She graciously murmured, closing her eyes.

Lotte was a soft, motherly, and kind girl, the warmth she radiated analogous to a fresh home cooked meal, contrasting the chaotic sunshine a less burdened Defender Kagari once brought into a room.

"The good knightess is incredibly skilled, Defender, she will certainly bring your mother home. And when that happens I'm sure my father would like to have dinner together!"

She knew better than anyone of Chariot's unmatched ability with a weapon, of her unrivaled kindness and wit, but until the day they stood face to face again, dark voices would forever hang over the shield's mind. The reinforcement helped though.

Claiomh Solais slid back into place at the defender's hip as she flashed the brightest grin she could, burning away the dark clouds that surrounded the pair. ""Her Highness doesn't like it when I frown!" Akko beamed, grasping her hands around the ginger girl's and bringing them up to chest level. "Thank you, Miss Yanson; I wouldn't want to upset her."

The servant girl shook her head, creasing her eyes in a warm smile and pulling her hands back down to fold in front of her. "Formality is best saved for the presence of royalty; call me Lotte."

"Akko." The defender replied, tilting her head to the side and matching Lotte with creased eyes.

Though they saw eachother every morning, noon, and night, the two servants of The Crown had never before just spoken like normal coworkers; duty always calling them away after a quick smile and a wave.

They discussed many things, ranging from hobbies, weather, and family, to their work and inevitably Her Highness.

Yes, work. That thing they were meant to be doing right now.

"I should be getting back to my duties." The servant girl sighed once realizing this, taking a step back with a curtsy. "Give Her Highness my regards."

"I'll see you around!" Akko waved as the girl nodded and primly waltzed away with all the grace of a gazelle, her hands politely clasped in front.

"Oh, and for the record." Lotte called, turning her head just before she walked too far away; a decision made in the seconds since her goodbye. "I don't like seeing you frown either."

**-oOo-**

Those dark clouds didn't return for the entire last hour she stood at that post; any chance they had to form again vanishing with the emergence of Her Highness from Scholar Lukic's classroom.

"Ahh and there she is." The princess sighed in a way that almost sounded like a swoon. "My loyal knight standing guard."

Her arms immediately latched around her favourite arm, looking at the defender with an impish grin. "Hopefully you didn't get too lonely while I was gone."

"You are always missed, Your Highness." Akko answered, her ruby red eyes sparkling with vigor. "But my loneliness was lessened some by Miss Yanson; we spoke for a while."

The princess seemed pleased by that, the playful energy in eyes softening to give way to a warmer and softer look, one of shared joy. "You two are becoming such fast friends." Her Highness noted, hugging tighter to the shield's arm and leaning against her shoulder. "I'm so glad."

All of a sudden Her Highness' grip turned fierce, a very mixed aura surging outward from the pale girl's body. Anger, affection, greed, jealousy, joy, fear. It was simply baffling that one person could feel so many conflicting emotions at once, though her confusion was alleviated some when the princess finally spoke.

"Don't forget who you belong to."

She would have laughed if the continued existence of her arm didn't hang in the balance; the crown princess of Luna was worried of being left out, of being forgotten.

As if.

"Do not worry, Your Highness." The defender soothed, brushing the back of her gauntlet against the princess' soft cheek. "You are my sun and stars; my life revolves around you... I'm sure Miss Yanson feels the same way."

A light pink flush appeared just below Her Highness' eye; presumably her other as well, behind the waterfall of purple hair. From the day they, Atsuko had been in awe of how useful her highly selective photographic memory was in speaking with Her Highness. The lines of fictional knights that she could fire off at will always seemed to bring a smile to the princess' face, regardless of how rigid the delivery tended to be.

"You have no right to be so charming..." Her Highness growled under her breath, directed away from the defender to make it as inaudible as physically possible.

To save the princess from further blushing and herself from grumpy royalty, Defender Kagari didn't respond, allowing Her Highness to believe no one had heard her.

"Next on the schedule is checking on the new training regimen." Princess Sucy hummed, closing her eyes. "Take us to the garrison, my shield." It was something the defender found herself doing more and more every week: becoming the driver as Her Highness lazily relaxed on her shoulder as a docile passenger.

Rather luckily with this particular destination, Akko knew the route well, forward and back from her early morning training sessions. Were it a slightly different schedule, she would become the target of Her Highness' rather ruthless teasing or worse, a lecture.

They walked leisurely through the finely crafted hallways of Castle Manbavaran, intricately carved stone arches above and finely weaved red carpets below dredging up a curiosity that the defender had long since forgotten about.

"Who built this castle, Your Highness?" She asked suddenly. "It all just feels too perfect to have been built by human hands."

Her Highness chuckled, tilting her head to met her shield's gaze. "You're more perceptive than you look." She teased, the ghost of a mischievous grin appearing on her face before transforming into a more calm and thoughtful one.

"Thy presumptions art correct, dearest defender: this castle was not constructed by a thousand workers, but by a single man."

Green fire sparkled in the princess' eyes as she lifted a palm filled with the same jade embers and gently blew them into the air. They danced and swirled a metre in front of the defender as they walked down the halls, forming into scene.

A large empty plain surrounded by trees, a lone figure standing in the centre, familiar fire roaring in their fists.

"His Majesty King Hamba Manbavaran, The First Chosen."

In her mind, Defender Kagari had always envisioned the progenitor of the Manbavaran line to be a mighty man, tall, strong, a conqueror of lesser kingdoms. But as the princess focused on the figure, it was clear that such fantasies were just that.

For all intents and purposes, the first Chosen of the Nine was a child, a teenager that looked only a few years older than Haya. He was dressed in the clothing of simple folk, a raggedy tunic and trousers meant for those many sizes smaller. Conversely, sitting atop his messy dark hair was a brilliant crown, shimmering in the sun with an otherworldly sparkle, the sheer amount of gold and gemstones should have crushed the child's weak neck, but it looked weightless.

His features were feminine, nose long and chin sharp, the brows above his long eyelashes barely visible against pale skin. His fingers were long and thin, cheekbones pronounced by a lack of nutrition rather than definition, a look that Atsuko had gotten used to accompanying Knight Chariot to the more derelict of distant villages.

Hardship, sorrow, weakness.

But the boy was not weak. Not anymore.

The ground quivered beneath the young king's feet, grass blowing away from him in all directions as devastating magical energy radiated from his body.

"How I long to match his ability with the gifts..." Her Highness murmured as they turned a corner, resting her head back against her defender's shoulder with a dejected sigh.

Just as the king's burning hands thrust up into the air, the scene shifted, pulling back to view the entire field as spires of stone pierced through the dirt and grass, ascending towards the heavens to touch the sky.

Castle Manbavaran rose up from the earth, slightly different from its current day form but no less recognizable. Her Highness' tower was one such exclusion, making the keep's central spire the highest point of the newborn kingdom.

"Can... Can you do that?" Akko beamed excitedly, looking at the princess with shimmering eyes filled with childlike wonder.

A warm feeling gripped Her Highness' snowy heart, her shield's adorable face tugging at her defrosting heartstrings. Bright shining red eyes like rubies, soft chocolate brown hair, a smile like sunshine; all hers.

"Ah, n-not at that scale but yes." The princess answered nervously after a silence that lasted just long enough to feel awkward. "The Gift of Creation- of Arae."

_'Yes explain things, good.'_ She thought, looking down to focus on each of her steps. '_You know more than she does. You are a princess, maintain control, be cool.'_

"In the early days of the kingdom and in years of conquest, my family would create houses, walls; entire towns for the people to live in." Her grandfather had used its power to expand Castle Town when an influx of citizens caused a shortage of housing, and most recently King Ataas had made adjustments to one of Castle Manbavaran's towers to create her room.

"But now it is mostly used for repairs or slight changes."

Their conversation trailed off as they reached the door out into the knight's quarter, but the princess wasn't exactly finished.

"As soon as this is all over..." She murmured, turning her head on the shield's shoulder to meet her questioning eyes and bring their faces close.

"I will personally rebuild your home."

She saw how Akko's eyes widened with emotion, her sunny smile soft and grateful. Sucy would do anything for that smile; her crown to keep that beautiful star always shining.

**-oOo-**

The knight's district was far busier than Defender Kagari had ever seen it, but that was to be expected as her usual hours in the district were the very lowest activity wise. Knights of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels filled the courtyard; swinging maces and hammers at their sparring partners who each stood behind hearty tower shields.

It seemed that before he embarked on his tour of the kingdom, Captain Hanbridge had set up the new training program, preparing the knights of Castle Manbavaran for inevitable combat with the beast and its frozen legion.

"That captain sure works fast..." Akko mused aloud, stroking the pommel of Claiomh Solais in thought.

Her Highness nodded at the defender's side. "Indeed. His rise to the position of captain is more than mere nepotism. There is a reason why one so young is given such responsibility."

"What's my reason?" The shield asked with a teasing smile that Her Highness noted did not suit her.

"Nepotism and circumstance." The princess responded with snark and an equally teasing grin, cutting off Akko's cast line before she could catch a fish. "If I did not enjoy thy company, and if thou were not a _suicidally brave idiot_, thou wouldst not be here."

Defender Kagari rolled her eyes dramatically, goading a chuckle from the princess' throat. "But I am brave, and now I'm _your_ idiot."

They smiled at eachother, locking gazes.

"Yes you are." Her Highness declared, a barely noticeable blush on her cheeks, easily mistakable for the body's natural reaction to cold.

It was then that the knights noticed their liege standing there in the snow, almost collapsing to their knees in respect.

Swordmaster O'Neil rushed over and did the same, genuflecting before the pair, a hand over her heart.

"Your Highness, welcome." She breathed in a tone entirely alien to Akko, devoid of all of the spunk and vulgar grit she had shown in all the time the defender had known her.

"You are earlier than we expected." The swordmaster noted, eyes looking up from under her down tilted head for an explanation, but too worried about overstepping her bounds.

Her Highness smiled, motioning for Amanda to rise from the snow. "If I am to observe the progress of our new training regimen, is it not prudent to view natural movements?"

"Knowing of my presence beforehand would stiffen thy movements and place unneeded stress." The swordmaster nodded in agreement at Her Highness' words, brushing the snow off of herself.

"And were you disappointed?" Amanda asked with direct and vulnerable honesty, her green eyes searching for even the tiniest speck of disapproval.

The princess shook her head, smiling. "Not at all. Captain Hanbridge chooses his swordmasters well. Please continue, I shall remain and watch."

The redheaded knightess saluted, turning around on a dime to march into the centre of the courtyard. "You heard Her Highness!" She barked aggressively. "I want double the effort! Get to work!"

**"SIR, YES SIR!"** The responding chorus was _loud_; at least five hundred grown men and women all shouting at the top of their lungs, motivation reignited at the sight of their next queen.

"That means you too, defender." The princess added once the roar of sparring knights shielded her voice from all others. "I want to see the fruits of your own training."

Fingers glowing with what at first glance looked like completely normal fire, Her Highness flexed her hand wide down at the snow, moving it upwards as the frost and ice gathered into first a lump, then a pile, and finally an entire snowman.

"Your target." She grinned, crossing one leg over the other and folding her dainty hands in her lap.

Claiomh Solais slid free from its sheath and into the afternoon sunlight, the deadly edge singing as it cut through the very air around them.

"Slay the beast to protect me." Sucy ordered with a flirtatious flutter of her eyelashes and a teasing pout of her lip. "Save me from the scary snowman Akko."

The shield of the princess followed through with her job title, giggling as she nodded and widening her stance. "By your order, Your Highness."

Two quick slashes. First across the snowman's stomach with enough force to pop it up into the air, where the second strike cut sliced it clean in half.

The two pieces of what was once a snowman's torso splat onto the ground beside them.

Her Highness clapped, barely holding in her laughter and summoning another enemy from the icy cadaver of the fallen one. "Oh no!" She laughed in false shock. "Another foul beast come to steal me away!"

And that was how the princess and her shield ended up spending the rest of the afternoon slaughtering an entire army of snowmen.

If only the real things could be felled so easily.


	16. Burn

**-oOo-**

Being the shield of Her Royal Highness Princess Sucy, Heir to Luna's throne, and Chosen of the Nine, was an expectedly stressful job. Always on edge, looking over your shoulder, twitching at every sound and distrusting every face.

The defender's increasingly close relationship to Her Highness didn't help matters much either; each shared smile and gentle touch filling her nights with thoughts of loss.

It wasn't all doom and gloom though; said close relationship with the princess a source of as much joy as stress. Despite the sudden violent and chaotic uproot, the defender's life was finding new soil to settle itself in, a rigid schedule being the rock for her like she was to Her Highness.

Every day the same thing.

Rise before the sun, train with Swordmaster O'Neil, be by the princess' side just as she rouses from slumber.

"Ah, there she is."

Though the third thing always remained rather touch and go.

Princess Sucy was sitting peacefully against the headboard, her soft pink hair tied up in a messy bun atop her head with only a few stray locks free to hide her left eye. Lotte smiled from her fold up table next to the bed, and Akko did the same before bowing.

"Mmm..." The princess hummed into the rim of her cup. "My clumsy squire has grown into a fine knight, has she not?" There was an almost hungry glint to her eye that made the shield squirm.

The redheaded servant nodded, agreeing silently with a rather amused but tight lipped smile.

Clearly the two of them had just been speaking of something before Akko interrupted, something about _her_, and something they were in no hurry to share.

By their faces it couldn't have been too bad, but the thought of others talking about her when she wasn't present made the defender fidget awkwardly as she sat down in her designated chair.

"Onto today's main events!" Lotte announced, flourishing the notebook that had been in her apron's pocket and changing the subject towards work.

"You have a noon banquet scheduled at Cavendish Manor; the departure time is in roughly two hours, half an hour after the decoy convoy."

Once the princess' shield was over the matter of a fact way Lotte discussed the matter of decoy convoys and banquet schedules, she was hit by a realization.

Cavendish Manor.

Which meant _outside_ Castle Town.

_'Oh boy.'_

Though the defender sometimes took Her Highness out to walk the streets of the town, the two of them had never been outside the walls, not since that day.

"There is no need for worry, my loyal shield." The princess soothed, rubbing circles into Akko's leather clad palm. "Though thou were once a pathetic squire, hardly able to swing a sword, thou hast grown much since then."

It wasn't the most motherly or consoling of reassurances, sure, but there was truth in Her Highness' words.

"Woe to enemies of The Crown, for they contend with Defender Kagari, Shield of the Princess."

Leaning in further, Her Highness lifted a hand to her face, brushing away the veil of pink for Akko to see the abyssal void beneath. Red and black meeting red and red while Lotte's greens remained respectfully averted.

"I trust you." The princess whispered in a vulnerable voice, and Akko felt the sincerity- felt it strike her dead centre in the heart.

The defender nodded in understanding, steeling her will for the ordeal to come while the servant girl finished of the schedule.

"I shall ready the handmaidens to assist you in getting dressed, Your Highness." Lotte notified with a bow before seemingly remembering something important and getting her notebook back out. "Winter Banquet 5, 7, or 10, Your Highness?"

Instead of closing her eyes or looking down like she usually did whilst thinking, Princess Sucy instead scanned her shield up and down, scrutinizing the brunette's uniform before looking back up to Lotte.

"I think 10 will look quite lovely, Miss Yanson." She answered with a smile. "I'm feeling like a dash of red this morning."

**-oOo-**

The defender sat patiently outside of the royal dressing room examining her sword meticulously as she waited for Her Highness to allow entry. She tested the balance, cleaned the edge with a fine threaded cloth, and checking the fastenings, despite the pointlessness of such things.

Claiomh Solais was an almost disturbingly perfect blade that rarely needed upkeep, but Akko often worked through the motions as a sort of mental upkeep for her own well being.

It took her around an hour to fully process the idea of having 200 less soldiers to assist her in defending Her Highness, the voices inside of her chest whispering reassurances and praise all the while.

Trapped in her own mind, time flew by, sand pummeling the bottom of the hourglass as hours became minutes became seconds. And eventually after an hour of solid primping the royal heir's clothes, multiple handmaidens emerged from the room, bowing to the defender and gesturing towards the door.

"Her Highness is nearly ready, Defender Kagari. She allows you entrance."

Slightly tilting her head downward in a part bow- part nod, Akko stood from her seat, sheathing a Claiomh Solais that looked no different from when she first sat down.

Slowly and respectfully entering the dressing room, the defender was rather floored by the elegance displayed before her. Princess Sucy stood stone still like a kind of doll, her eyes closed in an calm angelic expression, hands held out to her sides as remaining servants attached beautiful golden bracelets to her delicate wrists.

Her gown was deep maroon, splashes of blood red and accents of gold adding to the already regal aura surrounding her. It hugged the curve of her waist perfectly before fanning out at her hips around some rigid hidden petticoat.

Two long lines of gold lace ran down Her Highness' body, starting from the collar, to the left and right of her chest, and travelling down to separate the gown in two. Thin gold gossamer filled in the gap with elaborate patterns, contrasting nicely with the reds that could be seen beneath.

Long billowing sleeves covered the princess' arms in soft maroon silk, red and gold accents capping off the planes of solid color before her soft thin fingers peeked out.

"For one as naturally noisy as thee, I seem to always find myself capable of snatching thy words away." The princess' lips parted in a teasing smile, her perfectly primed and brushed hair framing her face like a piece of artwork.

Akko could only stand and stare like a buffoon; she was beautiful.

The defender reached forward to take Her Highness' hand, helping the princess down from her raised platform in a lovestruck haze.

Light giggles flanked the pair on both sides; the remaining handmaidens whispering to each other excitedly. Their eyes twinkled with anticipation as Akko brought the princess' hand to her lips.

"Like a master thief, Your Highness: you take my words and breath away." Each knuckle received a single careful kiss before the shield looked back up at her enchanting charge.

Sucy averted her gaze towards the floor, the once wide and smug grin on her face reduced to a tiny thing, bashful and flustered.

"I- ah..." She struggled to form a complete sentence, tugging her hand away and holding it close to her chest defensively while her other dismissed the remaining servants. "W-We should make our way down to the carriage."

Her Highness was a fickle girl. Sometimes she acted like a conqueror, the entire world wrapped around her finger and bowing at her feet; other times she was a blushing beauty, looking like she was about to be swept off her feet by a dashing prince.

The defender pondered this as she silently escorted Her Highness out of the castle's front gates where multiple mounted knights waited around a rather fancy but otherwise nondescript carriage.

It was only once the royal at her side shifted, hugging a little bit tighter to her arm in an effort to escape the cold, that the defender came to an epiphany.

In such an analogy, that would make _her_ the prince.

Akko's face burned, the cold air all around them shielding her from suspicion. For roughly a month and a half the princess and her defender had danced around each other, sharing gestures and words of affection, without ever thinking about the underlying meaning.

And then the questions started, and once they started they didn't stop.

_'Am I the prince?'_

_'Do I want to be?'_

_'Does Her Highness think of me that way?'_

_'Do I want her too?'_

_'...Are these even my own thoughts?'_

"Shall we go, dear defender?"

The princess' shield jerked, blinking rapidly to refocus her eyes in on the present and on the rather important job at hand.

Convoy, leaving the walls, protecting the heir to Luna from bandits or whatever else may wish her harm.

That.

"A-Ah, yes. My apologies, Your Highness."

The snow was beginning to pick up, and rather than leave Her Highness' rather perfect hair to get covered in flakes, Akko took her hand, helping her up into the carriage.

Then the defender received a quick rundown on the route they were taking and the current formation. Getting from Castle Manbavaran to the dukedom of Dutchess Cavendish required an uncomfortable amount of time in the open plains to the north, therefore a decoy or two had to be sent ahead to bait out any unruly sorts that lay in wait.

"It should be pretty simple." The knight reassured. "This cavalry formation is built for high range of vision, even in this awful weather. We'll give a shout if we spot anything."

Akko nodded in response and they split to mount their horses. The defender was to ride alongside the carriage, protecting Her Highness' left side while another of Luna's finest took the right.

She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the sharp winter air before breathing it all back out in a large puff of smoke.

_'I can do this.'_

And then they were off.

**-oOo-**

White. It was all the defender could see for ages all around, as flakes of snow danced and twirled in the wind. The plain ahead was a blank canvas, an endless void with naught but the occasional bare and slumbering tree every couple of minutes.

Her muffler was getting good use immediately though, sparing her nose and ears from the bitter chill that scratched and bit at her body every second.

Within only fifteen minutes of travelling, Castle Manbavaran's towering spires disappeared into the mist behind them, leaving them alone with only the deafening silence heavy snowfall brought.

Every so often, Akko would turn to look into the carriage's window: sometimes she would see Her Highness wiping away the condensation as quickly as it became a hindrance, other times the royal would draw hearts instead.

Currently though, the princess had her eyes closed, muttering something to herself as her glowing eyelids saw something other than darkness. The colour couldn't really be determined without actually being inside of the carriage, either a green for something Her Highness knew and was looking back on, or aqua for something no one knew.

The defender would find the answer quite quickly after pondering it, as Her Highness' eyes snapped open suddenly, banging on the windows to get her shield's attention.

Their eyes met, urgent and panicked meeting concerned and curious.

_"Sn...ow._" She mouthed, and Akko's heart nearly gave out.

_'Not here, not now.'_

_'By the Nine please...'_

"Hostiles!" A voice from somewhere to her left yelled. "Fast ones! Keep riding!"

It was so hard to see, the flurries of ice circling in every direction reducing visibility to mere meters. The defender slipped Claiomh Solais out of it's sheath just in case, holding onto her steed with one hand as she tried again and failed to see.

But she could still hear.

Over the dull roar of the wind and hooves pounding against the ground, she could hear them: growling, snarling, barking, too airy to be a real animal.

The sound made her eye twitch in rage.

Her heart began to beat faster, the flame burning hotter and brighter inside her chest. The monsters that destroyed her home, separated her family, killed her neighbours; they were back for more.

Princess Sucy saw the furious glint in her shield's eyes and frantically shook her head.

_'No. You need to stay here. Don't try to fight them. We need to keep going.'_

The defender turned around to look in the direction where the sounds had come from, and she saw their eyes, an icy blue that rivaled a clear sky.

Locking her gaze back onto the princess' Akko rode a tiny bit closer and reached out, lifting a finger off of the sword's hilt and pressing it into the slightly frosted glass.

Two half circles connected at one end, a V shape falling into place beneath them.

Her Highness stared at the little heart like it was the most horrifying thing she had ever witnessed in her entire life.

"Keep moving! Do not let them get the princess!" Akko shouted, before pulling on her horse's reigns and splitting off from the carriage, disappearing into the mist.

It was dumb. It was petty. It wasn't what she should have done.

But the embers in her chest roared with anger, furious at the sheer audacity of these beasts; to _dare_ threaten the life of Her Highness, to _dare_ come within even a hundred kilometers of her.

_'Such disgusting blemishes on this world must be purged.'_

She snarled and Claiomh Solais roared to life in her hand, bursting into flames as the world turned blue around her. She could see them now through the mist, their vile shapes shifting and undulating like icy sewage, pathetic mockeries of the life they tried to imitate.

Seven of them surrounded a lone knight, the one assigned to the left flank of the convoy and the one that had initially shouted. He sat injured and bleeding with his sword outstretched defensively, gnawing on his lip as his mind went through every possible solution.

_'There is only one solution.'_

Akko leaped off her horse backwards, sending the charging steed ahead to trample over an unsuspecting beast before continuing to run in the direction of the convoy.

The defender swung her sword in a threatening arc, her eyes glowing with blue flame as the blade trailed embers of red and orange.

**"YOU MUST BURN!"**

Magic seared through her veins like acid, King Ataas' oath of protection and whatever powered the flaming sword in her hand mixing and combining inside of her.

It hurt; it burned with a pain the defender had never known before and wished to never known again, but it made her feel so _strong._

As long as it was in the name of Her Highness, she felt like she could do anything.

Each of the ethereal wolves turned on her, sensing the greater danger and bending their legs in preparation to pounce.

One of them tried, as if to gauge her abilities for the others, but Akko sidestepped its overzealous attack and the monster was quickly sliced clean through, its body melting into the very air with a pained whimper.

Next it was two, each of them coming from a different angle. The defender swung with a roar, slicing the head off of one but moving too slowly to stop the other from slashing its claws across her less protected back and drawing blood.

The pain only goaded her into a further frenzy, and she spun around on the ice, using the lower friction to her advantage and retaliating against her assailant by slicing both of its front legs off. It fell to the ground but still struggled to bite at her ankles, prompting Akko to kick it in the teeth violently before lifting her leg high into the air and crushing its head beneath her boot.

It felt so _good_ to kill them, satisfying the furnace inside of her as it lusted for the blood of the princess' enemies. And beyond the magic oath that conjured these feelings, it felt good to get _revenge_.

She would leave no beast of ice alive; in memory of Torinosu she would become feared among the demons of this world. A true knight: one that inspired hope in the just and innocent and instilled terror in the hearts of the vile.

Four remained and they all came at the same time. She watched with disgust as they dived in and out of the snow like some manner of fish in spawning season, swerving and weaving in an attempt to confuse her.

A wide underhand swing decimated half of them as they entered her range, but the defender was outnumbered by enemies too fast to quickly react to and she was tackled to the ground by the remaining half.

The snow was like hot coals to the open wounds on her back, and she cried out in pain, struggling to push against the monsters with her sword as they attempted to tear her throat out.

_It was so cold._

Their touch was like death and darkness, seeping all the heat from her body at a frighteningly fast pace. Claiomh Solais' flames wouldn't melt them fast enough, she needed to fight harder, she needed to survive, there might be more beasts further ahead, she needed to protect...

_Protect..._

The image of Princess Sucy's vulnerable and sincere smile flashed inside of Akko's foggy and consumed brain; her beautiful face no longer half hidden under a veil of her soft pink hair.

_"I trust you."_

The blue in her vision became so intense at that moment that the defender was blinded, she felt her arms moving and her muscles contracting, but she could see nothing but blue fire.

Shouting, airy sounds of pain, and a blast of hot hair.

When it finally cleared, she was standing in the middle of a grassy patch, seemingly untouched by snow. Claiomh Solais still burned in her hand, but there were no enemies to be found. The knight from left flank was still on the ground, but this time instead of staring warily at seven wolves of frost, he stared wide eyed at her.

"What... in the Nine... was that..."

His shocked statement made Akko remember herself, waving her hand in denial at whatever he was about to say and desperately trying to put out the fire in her fist.

"Ah! No- I- Come on s-stupid thing!" She stumbled over her words, bending over slightly to try and fiddle with the sword's handle in the hopes of it turning off.

What came next was a reminder of sustained injuries and one part of the inevitable punishment she would have to endure from the princess for running off.

The knight only chuckled, laying back down in the snow and letting the slight huffs of his chest transform into full blown laughter.

His laugh bounced off of the snowflakes as they fell, creating a dull padding to it not unlike that in a small room.

"You really are her shield." He said once the giggles had died out enough to speak.

Akko wasn't quite sure what he meant by that.


	17. Cavendish (part 1)

**-oOo-**

"Such a damn idiot..." Defender Kagari grumbled under her breath as the knight- his name turned out to be Dustin -and herself stumbled through the feet of snow in search of their rogue horses. The defender had long since removed her cape, tying it tightly around Dustin's wounded midsection to stop the bleeding until Her Highness could heal him.

She tried to not think about her own injuries, but every time a tailwind blew against her, the angry red gashes in her back objected loud enough to set her off on another round of grumbling.

"Heh." The knight chortled softly at Akko's self deprecatory muttering. "I won't say I wish you hadn't come back for me, but you better say your prayers before we get to Cavendish Manor."

The defender gulped, imagining the princess' fury bearing down on her, her single red eye burning with the same deadly flames that had brought countless lesser kingdoms to their knees.

"Y-Yeah..."

Even if they did survive long enough to catch up with the convoy, Akko was most certainly dead.

Above their heads, snowflakes slowly fell from the sky in lighter and lighter densities; the blizzard from before vanishing as quickly as it came. The defender silently praised The Nine for this, as any more snow would cause the horse tracks they were following to disappear faster than they could move, leaving them truly and deeply lost.

A quarter of an hour passed before they found the defender's horse near to the edge of a dying forest, deciding whether or not to drink from an icy creek. It seemed glad to see the shield when the crunching of ice alerted it to her presence, trotting over to meet them halfway with a nicker.

"Hey there!" Akko laughed, giving the steed a friendly pat on the nose. "We need to catch up to the princess, can you run fast?"

Now horses couldn't understand English, the defender knew this, but when its head moved up and down in a whinny, she still blinked in surprise.

"It seems so!" Dustin teased, reaching up to the horse's saddle. "Help me up, and you can finally loose my dead weight."

**-oOo-**

Travelling up the creek, the two knights could slowly see the outlines of buildings appear on the horizon: houses, windmills, and a building larger than all the rest with a long bridge connecting it to the town.

Wedinburgh, of the dukedom of Cavendish.

As if sensing the possibility of warmer water, Akko's horse sped up its pace, galloping closer and closer until they circled the town walls and entered through the gate.

Rushing through the almost barren streets, the defender caught glimpses of the townspeople's faces: tired and fearful, shivering from a chill both mental and physical. The people of Luna weren't yet fully aware of the evils that lurked in the ice, but still felt the paranoia when it snowed, thinking of the slowly dwindling foodstores and waning power of fire to keep their homes warm.

It hurt to look away, like she was ignoring their pain, but she had her own struggles to deal with; her own people to protect.

As soon as they came within a hundred metres of the manor's bridge, the two guards stationed at the gate both slammed a fist against the wood, causing it to slowly swing open just in time for the pair of knights to ride through. Clearly they had been notified of potential late arrivals; assumedly by the princess or dutchess herself.

Cavendish Manor had a large front courtyard, and though the grass was choked by ice and snow, the flowerbeds remained untouched and full of life. The manor itself looked more like a fortress, towers rising from every corner and every wall crenelated cleanly. Akko guided her horse around the courtyard's circular road and back towards the stable where many knights from Her Highness' convoy waited.

"Miss Kagari! Dustin!" One of them shouted, jumping up from a hay bale to meet them as Akko slowed her steed to a halt.

"Well I'll be!" She laughed, folding her arms. "Any longer and we would have thought you both dead!" The others quickly helped Dustin off of the horse, taking him into the stable-house proper where he could warm up. He barely had the chance to wave his hand in goodbye, a smile on his face that spoke all the words he needed to.

_'Good luck.'_

The shield smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "I'm sorry... I h-hope I didn't worry you too mucCH!" She cried out as she all but fell off the horse, the slices in her back exploding in pain as fresh snow pressed against them.

"I don't think its us you want to be apologizing to. Her Highness said that you would be fine but..." Each of the knights standing around her shared similar faces: empathetic, uncertain, looking each other in the eyes before turning back to the defender on the ground. "She seemed pretty shaken up."

The princess' face flashed in Atsuko mind, eyes wide as she stared horrified at the spot where her defender once was, brilliant red cape fluttering in the breeze, and wondering to herself whether or not that was the last time she would ever see it.

For all the frost-burn and moderate to severe wounds the defender was suffering, nothing hurt more than that image.

Rolling onto her stomach, Akko pushed herself resolutely to her knees and then to her feet, stumbling slightly as gravity reasserted itself on her body in the intended direction. Without another word, the shield slowly began stomping away from the stables and towards the manor's front door; all the while, the guards posted at the entrance silently watched and waited, their spears stuck firmly in the snow.

"Good tidings, Defender Kagari. Dutchess Cavendish welcomes thee to Cavendish Manor." The guard on the right tipped his helmet forward in a slight bow, grasping the brass door handle and turning.

"Please remember to wipe and dry thine footwear before entering the rest of the manor."

**-oOo-**

After leaping and stomping for at least a minute straight and drying away any remaining moisture, Defender Kagari stepped into the foyer. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the ceiling: intricately sculpted molding wrapping around the walls like vines, eight brave shoots curling up at the corners where they fused into four before completing their journey at at large central design. An incredibly expensive looking chandelier hung down from the very centre of said design, almost as ritzy as those in the royal dining hall, though much smaller.

For a moment the shield's brain went to a rather dark place, musing on how much coin she could rake in if she popped out each gemstone and stole them.

"Akko?"

But more important things shook her out of it.

Her Highness stood at the top of the stairs, her face somehow looking even paler than usual, her clasped hands itching for something to fidget with, finally settling for themselves instead.

There were others with her as well: A platinum blonde young woman whom she recognized as acting head of the household, Lady Cavendish, and the equally emotionless face of Captain Hanbridge in his own royal uniform.

"Your Highness, Lady Cavendish!" Atsuko cried, falling to one knee and bowing her head. "I apologize for my tardiness."

She heard the telltale sound of shoes clicking against the tile floor and could soon see the bottom of Her Highness' deep red gown. "Rise my shield." Her voice was devoid of emotion, harsh and too the point; Akko could feel a bead of nervous sweat slide down her forehead.

The princess' eye was even harder to read, her maroon orb moving back and forth as she searched her defender's face for something.

Suddenly there was pain and Akko snapped her head left, following the force of the slap all the way through until her neck could turn no more.

The defender blinked twice in rapid succession; she probably deserved that.

"Lady Cavendish, Captain Hanbridge, if Miss Kagari and I could have a moment alone?"

Sharing a look, a glint of something- perhaps fear - in their eyes, the two nobles bowed before walking back up the stairs and disappearing into one of the many doors on the second floor.

When she looked back, Her Highness had her eyes closed, her fists clenched against her chest. "You-" She choked on her words, fighting back a sob as she punched the shield in the arm. "_I can't believe you!"_

The princess stepped closer, butting her forehead and crashing her fists against the defender's chest. "I told everyone that I knew you'd be okay, but that was a lie! How could I, with you just disappearing into a blizzard like an idiot!?"

Akko was frozen, unsure whether or not she was allowed to move, whether or not she was allowed to touch the princess. Everything in her screamed to wrap her arms around the royal's shaking shoulders, hold her tightly and tell her everything would be alright, but she just stood there.

"Why did you just run off like that?!" Her Highness' head reared up to look her shield angrily in the eyes, tears threatening to spill over. "You leave me a little heart like that would make everything okay?!"

Before she could think about it, the defender's gloved hand instinctively reached out to cup Her Highness' cheek, using a thumb to wipe the princess' tear before it could get too far down her face.

The royal's eyes fell shut once again, her fury crumbling into sorrow as she almost snuggled into her shield's palm. "Why do you have to be a hero?" She asked in a voice light as air. "Why can't I just be good enough?"

Bringing her other hand up to brush away the princess' hair and cup the other side of her face, Atsuko pressed their foreheads together, her own breathing hitching with emotion.

"You _are_ good enough. I went out there to kill them personally; to make sure _you_ were safe."

It was then that the princess' shield was hit with a moment of courage, separating her forehead from Her Highness' and instead pressing her lips against it sweetly.

"I will always come back to you. I promise."

Sniffling in an unladylike manner, Her Highness wrapped her arms around the defender's waist; signalling Akko to do the same.

"I'm still mad and you're still an idiot, don't think you've gotten out of this." She grumbled after taking a minute to collect herself, muffling her voice with the shield's muffler. "But I'm glad you're okay."

Defender Kagari cringed, her body tensing as the princess' fingers ran over the tears in her uniform and barely scabbed over cuts in her skin.

Her Highness pushed the defender back out to arms length, looking into the defender's eyes with a frown and sunken eyebrows, an expression Akko had seen countless times as a child.

Disappointment.

She made a pointed 'turn around' gesture with her finger, more of an order than anything else. The slow way she did it made Akko's lips purse, it gave the impression that if she did not comply, the Gift of Polaria would have forced her to anyway.

Looking at the deep scars her shield had suffered during her impromptu rampage, the princess sighed with exhaustion

"You know what? No. I'll fix the uniform, but you're keeping those as a reminder of how much of an idiot you are."

Again, she probably deserved that.

**-oOo-**

Once the defender's uniform was returned to pristine condition and Her Highness' face no longer bore the signs of tears, the two walked arm in arm up the foyer's stairs, entering the room where Lady Cavendish and Captain Hanbridge had retreated to.

Akko opened the door for the princess, bowing as the heir to Luna silently passed, her eyes closed and expression calm.

"I have returned." Her Highness announced, causing all in the room to fall quiet, jumping to their feet and bowing respectfully. Besides the two Akko had seen earlier, there were others of high standing present: other knights in spotless armour to the left and right hands of the captain, and women with hair quite similar to the dutchess' eldest flanking her sides.

Though sharing near identical traits to the young head of House Cavendish, there was a level of wolf-like sharpness to their faces; emotion that Lady Cavendish had rarely shown.

Walking alongside the princess further into the room, Akko pulled the chair at the end of the table out for her to sit down upon. She nodded slightly in thanks, a motion that brought a small amount of warmth back to the defender's guilt ridden heart.

"Perhaps the tour and feast can be delayed." Her Highness stated rather than asked, opening her visible eye. "There is rather serious business to attend to."

"Of course, Your Highness." Lady Cavendish accepted, gesturing across the table for the captain to begin.

Shuffling the papers in front of him, Captain Hanbridge passed a copy to each of the nobles at the table. Looking over Her Highness' shoulder, Akko observed the contents of the paper with her.

"At His Majesty's request, I have been to each of the dukedoms of Luna and spoken with their heads individually. As we speak they are going forward with The Crown's strategy." Among the many large and complex words on the page that the defender couldn't decipher, there were a few sentences that mentioned the different pieces of this strategy: patrols, sealing blind-spots, and something about new building projects.

Her Highness' mouth moved, though no words came out as she silently read the rest of the page; afterwords closing her eyes for a moment and leaning back thoughtfully.

"I see that these patrols have been properly equipped, but has thy new training regimen cemented?" Akko was also interested to hear, as her own suggestions were part of what kick-started the process to begin with.

"Indeed your highness." The knight to Captain Hanbridge's right bowed his head as he answered, voice proud while still remaining respectful. "Though Sir Hanbridge has been with us for a mere day, our patrols shall be out in the plains within three."

"Defender Kagari."

Akko jumped at the mention of her name, forgetting that she was indeed visible and not just Her Highness' shadow. "Yes sir!" She saluted, placing a fist over her heart.

His emerald green eyes returned to the table, looking though his stack of pages; taking out and scanning through a particular one once it was located. "I understand Her Highness' convoy was caught up in one of the enemy's storms, correct?"

"Yes sir."

She could feel the entire room's eyes on her, even the telltale pressure of Her Highness' gaze radiated against the side of her face. The captain's eyes flitted up to her as well before returning to the page. "And thou engaged an until then unfought unit correct?"

Tellingly, the princess' pressure increased twofold, enveloping the entire room in a tense haze. The defender blindly reached under the table with her right hand, catching Her Highness' left as she searched for stability.

"Yes sir, wolves of snow."

His pupils shifted in recognition. "Knight Yanson mentioned such creatures in his testimony to the council..." Reaching a hand behind his head in request, it was soon filled by a servant who rushed forward with a quill pen.

"Any knowledge on our enemy will assist thy own duty as well."

Akko nodded, the princess' fingers closing tighter around her hand as the tension in the room became suffocating. Her Highness' didn't want to listen; didn't want to know with excruciating detail how her shield had received each of the deep slices that lined her back.

She wanted to be grumpy, not distressed. But the safety of her kingdom relied on such knowledge, and so she was forced to sit and listen, taking each word and vivid image into her mind.

Their claws.

Their teeth.

Their swift movements and baffling numbers.

When the defender had finished her tale, she couldn't feel her hand, Her Highness' iron grip having crushed the blood out of it entirely.

The knights crowded around the piece of paper as Sir Hanbridge wrote adamantly, showing the most emotion Akko had ever seen on his face, a look akin to disgust as he reread each of the descriptions Sir Yanson and herself had recounted.

_"Vile things..._" He spat under his breath before clearing his throat and speaking up. "The Crown once again thanks thee, Defender. I shall send this information to the dukedoms before returning to Castle Manbavaran."

Lady Cavendish scanned over her copy of the strategy once more, muttering as if having a conversation with herself.

"Thy blade ignites does it not? Some manner of blessing?" She suddenly double-checked, calculating blue eyes meeting the defender's. While the captain sounded utterly offended by the thought of such beasts existing, and the women at her sides looked frightened, the dutchess' eldest seemed fascinated.

"Uh- yes my lady, it is just as you describe." Akko drew Claiomh Solais, holding it up for the noble to examine. "Though I am unable to trigger it on command."

Snapping her fingers and receiving a pen quickly after, Lady Cavendish began writing something in the margins of the page. "Sir Geoffrey, art thou aware of the current state of our oil stores?"

The knight to Sir Hanbridge's left- apparently titled Geoffrey -crossed his arms thick bushy eyebrows drooping. "Well milady, I'm unsure of the specifics, but I'd wager waning by the day; this cold requires every hearth in the dukedom to be lit at all times."

If light-bulbs had been invented yet, Akko would have been able to see a figurative one appear above the blonde noble's head, her eyes lighting up just as brightly.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, crossing out a few of the sentences she had previously written down before replacing them with new ones. "Every civilian in the land is likely to have their own hearth roaring as well yes?"

"I would say so."

Her Highness, who had resulted to playing with her shield's fingers as she listened, looked up, meeting the eyes of all three of the knights present before settling on Akko's.

The cogs turned slowly in the defender's head, but eventually she too came to the same conclusion.

"Oh dear."


	18. Cavendish (part 2)

**-oOo-**

Lady Cavendish's guard captain left the room with his mistress' scrawl griped firmly in a fist, leaving the rest of Cavendish Manor's guests to rise from their seats on their own time.

"Come Your Highness, Defender Kagari." The dutchess' eldest beckoned. "Thou hast suffered much on the journey to us, let the servants of House Cavendish tend to thy every whim."

The two at women her sides bowed alongside her, though they seemed to be going through the motions rather than anything else, expressions stern and empty.

Leading her guests down the stairs and into the western wing of the manor, Lady Cavendish gestured to her shadows- whom Akko just started assuming to be family members -and then down the opposite hallway. "Maril, Merrill, fetch my aunt; tell her lunch will be served shortly."

Eventually after two right turns, the group finally arrived at a set of fine double doors which the nearby servants opened with a bow. The doors opened into an elaborate yet cozy dining room, twin circular chandeliers hanging delicately above the long central table. Everything in the room was comprised of finely carved woods of varying types, from light birch to deep dark ebony; each piece was cut and sanded meticulously, making it seem nearly as mystical and inhuman as Castle Manbavaran itself. Despite this, the room felt welcoming, arrangements of flowers and colourful candelabras breaking up the brown wood with colour and life.

Rushing forward as she often did, the defender pulled a seat out for Her Highness, bowing her head respectfully. "My liege."

The tiny grateful smile that formed on the princess' face was more than enough to split her defender's lips apart in a much wider one, relieved to no longer see tears or harsh glares.

Lady Cavendish sat across from the princess, leaving the seat at the head of the table poignantly empty, though speaking nothing of it.

"Defender Kagari, please sit, thou must be simply famished." She requested kindly. "My guards shall relieve thee of thy duty for the time being." Taking another quick look around the table, Akko found the eyes of numerous knights looking back at her, each of them with weapons primed to be drawn at a moments notice. Their eyes were shining with vigor, proud to take up the temporary mantle as shields of Her Highness; looking down at the reflective surface of a polished plate, Akko could see dark circles under her own.

"Ah- thank you, but I-" She tried to decline before being interrupted by a familiar touch.

The princess had turned and reached up, cupping her hand around her defender's cheek and stroking the skin just under the brunette's left eye. "Take a seat next to me, dearest defender." She murmured gently, an insincere pout creasing her lips. "My right side is ever so cold..."

Orders were orders.

Pulling out a chair for herself and dragging it a foot closer to Her Highness, Akko sat down with an audible sigh, her armour clanking against the wood. Beneath the table, Sucy took hold of the shield's left hand with her right, simply holding it with no further squeezes or caresses.

"I- Thank you for your hospitality Lady Cavendish." Akko managed out while she enjoyed Her Highness' proximity- her sweet perfume and calm aura.

The platinum blonde closed her eyes with a small smile. "For such a loyal servant of The Crown, there is little House Cavendish would refuse."

Turning to her left, Lady Cavendish opened her eyes in a sort of half glare. "Such things extend to thee as well Andrew." With a flick of the wrist, she smacked Captain Hanbridge's hand, sending the quill pen he was writing with flying to the other side of the room. "Enough of thy tireless working! Sit, eat; speak with us."

Her Highness giggled softly, smiling at the two nobles as they grumbled back and forth to eachother, and her shield turned to do the same. From the way they acted, Akko could tell there was a history of some kind, perhaps childhood friends, perhaps from rival families, but the specifics evaded her.

"Please Diana, refrain whilst in the presence of such high company."

All heads in the room snapped at the sound of a large wooden chair scraping across the carpet; the seat at the head of the table, once empty, now filled with its rightful owner.

A head of familiar platinum blonde hair, eyes of deep blue flanked on both sides with the light creases of age, sickly skin that was as pale if not paler than Her Highness' snow-white complexion.

"Mother!?" Lady Cavendish- Diana -gasped incredulously, rising from her seat. "What are yo-thou -w-what art thou doing on thy feet?"

Dutchess Cavendish frowned at her daughter, pulling her beautiful blue robes closer. "Do not treat me as if I were some waning elder! It would be rude of me to hide myself from our next queen." She bowed her head respectfully towards the princess, frown turning into a smile. "It is a pleasure as always Your Highness."

It was then that she flicked her eyes leftward towards the brunette, her eyebrows raising every so slightly. "And this must be the famous squire turned defender, Atsuko Kagari! Diana has spoken of thee with great interest."

Akko felt the back of her neck burn hot. Famous? Such an adjective felt hyperbolic; far higher than she would personally be willing to go. Rumored was a better fit.

"I'm honoured, my lady!" She cried, lowering her head and squeezing Her Highness' hand tightly for emotional support.

Mouth widening into her trademark grin, the princess glanced down at her shield before returning her gaze to the dutchess and captain. "Though she has tendencies leaning towards those of a rabid attack dog, Miss Kagari has easily met initial expectations."

"She is a fine knight."

Forget just her neck, Akko soon found her whole face filling with blood, Her Highness' laughter filling the dining hall. "She must work on her spine however." The princess puffed. "Words of praise seem to disable her higher cognitive functions."

As if to show the nobles otherwise, Akko straightened up, making an attempt at a serious face before Her Highness' infectious smile easily broke her down, sending her flushed face back down into her lap.

At least Her Highness wasn't as mad anymore; things could go back to normal.

Captain Hanbridge chuckled, smiling across the table at the top of the defender's brown head of hair. "Perhaps Swordmaster O'Neil can do something about that." He offered. "Nines know she has been trying with Frank."

Akko's right ear twitched as her memory churned and bubbled; the name Frank brought up phantoms of pain in her chest and images of bright blonde hair.

"Is he still intent on pursuing that dream?" The dutchess' eldest huffed, resting her right cheek in her palm. "I would be impressed with his resolve if knighthood wasn't so dangerous; especially now."

_'Knighthood...'_ The defender thought. '_So that's what he was doing...'_ She felt a certain kinship with the man, remembering her days whacking away at a straw dummy with a wooden sword as Chariot shouted directions vigorously.

It seemed so long ago now.

"Why knighthood, sir?" She asked suddenly, a curious glint to her ruby red eyes. "Surely someone of his standing could become anything he wants?"

"I am unsure." The captain responded with a sigh, fiddling with a fork as cogs twisted in his brain. "Perhaps for fun, perhaps for fame, or perhaps he simply wants to be useful."

Akko nodded in understanding, such sentiments sounding awfully familiar. "Well Amanda- eh- Swordmaster O'Neil -is a great teacher! I'm sure his hard work will pay of someday!"

He simply nodded in response and closed his eyes, the very edges of his lips curling upwards.

**-oOo-**

When the food finally arrived, it _arrived_. Servants flowed from the kitchen in waves, carrying shining silver trays of all sizes, filled to brimming with dishes of sheer extravagance; Akko could have never dreamed that food could be so colourful.

The greens and oranges of winter vegetables, the deep browns of perfectly cooked meat, the whites and yellows of melted cheese; it looked as good at it smelled.

Her Highness wasn't as excited however, looking at the food in front of her warily, as if even looking at such splendor was an affront to her suffering people. Seeing this, Akko squeezed Her Highness' fingers before lifting up the royal's plate and personally selecting dishes she would enjoy.

"Art thou not hungry, Defender?" Diana asked curiously, her own plate already dished. "Thou art more than welcome."

"Pardon? I'm not quite sure what you mean." The defender's eyebrow raised, the gears in her head clunking as she decoded what the noblewoman was talking about.

"Ooohh..." She realized, sitting down and scooting a little closer to the princess, placing the plate between them.

"Her Highness and I do things a little differently." The shield elaborated with a smile, handing one of the forks over to her charge.

Diana seemed puzzled. "One plate between two? Surely seperate plates would be easier to manage; our servants could have assisted."

The princess tuned out everything else in the room, focused on the simple action of cutting one of the roast slices into chewable pieces. Once satisfied, she pursed her soft pink lips and blew on a forked cube, cooling it down before offering it out to her shield.

Akko accepted with a beaming grin, chomping down on one half of the sacred first bite, saving the other half for Her Highness.

As expected, it was absolutely delicious, so much so that her peasant tongue cried out in confusion, the sudden improvement in daily food quality after nearly two decades of what was essentially the same stew and bread often making it difficult to even pinpoint what her meals tasted like.

She felt multiple pairs of eyes on the back of her head, different from the usual curious or interested looks she caused, this was more malicious; spiteful. Glancing to the right while she chewed, she caught the gazes of at least three noblewomen: Maril and Merrill, who had entered shortly before the food, as well as a similar looking older woman that followed them in.

They looked disgusted, noses upturned ever so slightly, their faces scrunched up in a kind of cringe. Whether it was from the act of two people eating with the same utensils, or simply the idea of the heir to Luna's throne being so intimate with someone of low blood, Akko suddenly felt immensely uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

Instead of letting it eat her alive, the defender turned back to watch Her Highness instead, catching her eye when the royal looked up from the plate with a newly forked bite. She smiled at her shield, hovering the fork in front of the brunette's mouth teasingly.

Akko moved quickly, chomping down over the utensil before Her Highness could yank it out of the way again. The amused twinkle in the princess' eye was worth the pain of hard silver against her teeth as was the smile that followed when she cringed in pain.

That genuine crease of the lips was a precious thing, and Akko's heart begged for more, nudging Her Highness' shoe with her own playfully. The princess nudged back, an eyebrow raising questioningly as she broke a breadroll into two equal halves.

_'In the mood to play are we?'_ Her lopsided smile seemed to say.

_'Always._' The brunette beamed back.

Across the table, Lady Cavendish watched Her Highness and the defender with great fascination, her hands cutting and forking on nothing but muscle memory.

"Is this the normal way for Princess and Shield to interact?" She murmured, jabbing her elbow mindlessly into the man seated next to her.

"I'm not- Cease!" Andrew's focus was torn away from his meal and put towards the action of capturing the noblewoman's elbow, stopping it from battering him further and even grabbing it with his other hand when one deemed insufficient. "C-Cease woman! Do not abuse thy honourable guests!"

When his ribs were no longer under assault, the captain breathed a sigh before continuing his answer. "I have never personally overseen a defender of the princess before." He began in a hushed tone, returning to his food. "But His Majesty and I have discussed the matter."

He glanced across the table to where the princess and her defender ate, happily isolating themselves from the rest of the room. "Miss Kagari functions different to most shields, though often complementary to Her Highness'... how shall I say... persona?" His point was proven as the two nobles watched the princess break down into a cackling fit while Akko guzzled down her entire glass of water.

"Our king is content with the results, and therefore so am I."

"What of the council then?" Diana continued without a moment's pause, jumping off of Sir Hanbridge's answer and into another question. "I doubt they are happy."

An uncharacteristic snort ripped forth from the knight's nose. "I would agree; most noble families would not be elated to see a simple lowborn squire succeed where their sons have failed." It was harsh; it was disrespectful, but by the Nine was it true.

"Though one may excel in an aspect of their life, there is always more to learn." Dutchess Cavendish added to the conversation, leaning away from the laughing royal and towards her daughter. "As is true for thee, my dear."

Diana frowned but said nothing.

The head of House Cavendish continued. "Though proficient in nearly all academic pursuits, thou hast yet to truly learn of people."

"People, mother?" The blonde girl inquired. "I have studied for years on the different nations of the world; on the different cultures within them."

"Indeed." The dutchess didn't answer her daughter's question, returning her attention to her plate and leaving the poor girl adrift.

Captain Hanbridge hummed, placing his fork and knife down on his emptied plate after a moment of quiet. "Kagari!" He called, and the effect was immediate.

The defender jumped to her feet and saluted, startling Her Highness in the process. "Yes sir!"

And though visibly startled himself, the knight regained his composure quickly. "Sit down please." He sighed, interlocking his fingers and resting his elbows on the table's surface.

"Yes sir..." Akko sheepishly deflated back down into her chair, grasping Her Highness' hand and squeezing out an apology.

"Now... tell me of thy progress with the Swordmaster."

The reluctance on Akko's face was clear, and she began scratching the back of her neck nervously, suddenly feeling self conscious. "I- I guess it's going well but..." She trailed off, the only thing she could do without turning into a stuttering fool.

"My interest is piqued as well, dearest defender." Her Highness interjected suddenly, wrapping both of her arms around her shield's left. "Do not be shy." She soothed with a tiny smile. "Let us hear."

Looking down at the princess' expecting face, so calm and angelic, all of the shield's fears and anxieties melted away as fast as they appeared, replaced with dull comforting embers that burned low.

What was it about Her Highness that always inspired such drastic shifts in her?

Akko had been asking herself such questions since that morning, questions about her role as a shield, about why Her Highness was so important to her, and if any of these feelings were hers to begin with.

While the defender mindlessly rattled on about sword drills and combat stances, her mind was filled with images of the princess' smiles, tears, and of the deep abyssal eye that was shown to her alone.

She looked down at Her Highness as the royal sat there hugging her arm, her mouth spoke of quick draw techniques in case of sudden ambush but her heart blew forth a constant stream of promises and declarations; all the while the flames in her chest grew larger and hotter, from tiny embers into what now felt like a towering inferno.

_'I am yours for eternity.'_

_'I will always protect you.'_

_'No matter the cost, you shall be safe.'_

_'Evil shall die by my hands.'_

What was this feeling? None of the princes in her books ever felt like this, did they?

Was she a prince?

"Oh Nines..." Her chest hurt.

"Defender?... Miss Kagari?... Akko?" Her Highness questioned, sounding more concerned with each attempt. "What is wrong? Thou'st gone pale."

"It- It's not important. I'm just- I don't feel my best is all."

It wasn't a lie per-say, more of an omission of details. Such a loophole was important, for as the defender recently found out, any attempt to seriously lie to Her Highness was met with immense pain.

She would have preferred pain to the dizziness that now wracked through her skull and the speed at which her heart pounded against her rib-cage.

"Then mayhaps we should end it here? The convoy can be prepared within the hour."

That sounded good to the defender, back to the castle, back to Her Highness' room where they could be alone.

She took a deep breath, pulling together her ever fragmenting will, instinctively gripping tighter to the princess' hand for support.

An hour? She could do that.


	19. Unstoppable

**-oOo-**

Once the banquet was properly- if suddenly -adjourned, Her Highness lead the defender out of the room and into the hall. The princess didn't look back, dragging her shield towards one of the free bathrooms.

The dizziness the defender felt had yet to wane, her head full of frantic thoughts dashing left and right, tripping over each other with every pass.

"Why am I so pointlessly vile..." Her Highness grumbled, unfastening a few of the leather straps that held the various armour plates to Akko's body. "...I just left them like that." Her words were quiet and disconnected, stopping and starting in the middle of continually moving ideas; making it difficult to decipher what exactly she was talking about.

Akko's brow creased, frowning at the distressed, unintelligible noises the princess made as she struggled to release the last buckle.

"Y-Your Highness!" She stuttered out, grasping both of the royal's hands and looking into her eyes. "Please calm yourself, I- I'm fine, just a little lightheaded- overwhelmed." She wasn't 'fine', this was an outright lie, and the sudden burning pain that shot through her head made it all the more of a falsity.

"Overwhelmed?" Her Highness questioned, biting her bottom lip when the defender cringed. "I thought you were doing perfectly well with the nobles... Shows how much of a friend I am."

There was that word again,_ friend_, it made the shield's heart skip a beat. For all of the teasing and insincere flirting, Her Highness truly thought of herself as Akko's friend.

"A-Ah! N-No!" Akko squeezed the princess' hands, trying and failing to fight off the growing blush as it filled her face. "The banquet was lovely, I was alright with it!"

Princess Sucy seemed puzzled, her eyes narrowing, searching the defender's pools of red for an answer."Then..." She started before trailing off; glancing down at the floor in thought. "Then what is the matter? You certainly don't look well."

The defender froze, blinking rapidly. In all of her flustered stumbling, it had never occurred to Akko that she would eventually have to explain herself.

"I..." She breathed, looking down at her boots. Lying again would probably knock her unconscious at this point and without any concrete answer, Her Highness would devour herself in unwarranted guilt.

"Well I uh-" Even if she didn't fully understand herself, Akko began to ramble, attempting to make sense of her own feelings along the way. "I was thinking about my job and..."

"And that inevitably lead to you."

The princess's eyes bored into her, making a shiver run up Akko's spine; they were so beautiful.

"I- I started feeling all warm and overwhelmed and-"

"I guess you really do take my breath away, huh?" Akko joked, her eyes creasing as she smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek with a finger.

Red and black orbs widening in realization, Her Highness's ears became incredibly red, her mouth falling open. Her expression was one of absolute wonder and disbelief; out of the corner of her eye, Akko could see the princess try and pinch herself, seemingly to check whether or not she was asleep.

"A-Are you sure?" The princess stuttered out, a question that confused her loyal shield. "How can- _really_?" She then began fidgeting harder than Akko had ever seen, shifting her hands around each other every few seconds; playing with rings or the bones of her fingers.

"Your Highness?" Akko didn't think she said much of concern, but the way the princess reacted made it seem like she had uttered the most profound thing in the history of the kingdom. "Is everything-"

"Turn around please." She ordered suddenly in a small tone, refusing to look her defender in the eyes. "I- I want to heal your scars. It was wrong of me to leave them unattended to for so long."

Akko did as instructed, sensing the tension in the air and not wishing to add to it further. Her scale chestplate finally fell to the floor once Her Highness's fingers were steady enough to undo the clasp, the pauldron and cape on her shoulders following not long after.

Though it was incredibly awkward and embarrassing to have the princess of Luna effectively undressing her, Akko helped the process along by removing her gloves and pulling her hands into the sleeves of her tunic.

Instinctively they went over her chest, despite still being covered by both the shirt that was still on her back and a binder. A stray thought helpfully pointed out that both of those things would need to be removed or at least pushed out of the way for Her Highness to properly get at the wounds; this only furthered the defender's self conscious anxiety, hugging herself tighter.

"C-" Her Highness choked, stopping her question before it had even started. Akko couldn't see to confirm her suspicions, but it was very likely their faces were both the exact same shade of red. "C-Can you um..."

Her Highness was too embarrassed to even say it, putting the burden of action on the shield.

_'Sacrifice yourself for the glory of The Crown!_' A voice in her head cried, urging the defender to answer the call of duty. '_Her Highness requires a will of steel!'_

She had to bite the bullet and get it over with, or she would be sitting here half-naked all afternoon. Not to mention the horror if someone were to find them like this.

With a groan of both resolute agreement and flustered indignation, Akko pulled the tunic and binder over in head in one tug, revealing the pale expanse of her back to the royal. She felt the colour of Her Highness' right eye, bundling the clothes in front of herself to hold onto the last scraps of dignity she still possessed.

"A-Ah... T-Thank you..."

With only three more words, Her Highness got to work, throwing herself fully into the task of mending her beloved shield's skin; trying her best to keep her hands steady, lest she fumble using the one gift she was supposed to be the best with.

For the defender, the gentle warmth was a nice reprieve from the uncomfortable heat that had plagued her last fifteen minutes; like a hug from someone you love, rather than being pushed around in a crowded street.

Every so often, the princess' hands would accidentally touch the shield's skin, causing her to jump and let out a mousy squeak in surprise. The ethereal waves of magic crashing against her made the brunette's body highly sensitive to sensations of the physical world, compounded by her newfound awareness of Her Highness' every move.

She took a deep breath, trying her best to calm herself down somehow.

_'It's only Her Highness...'_ She told herself, taking another deep intake of air. _'Her Highness is always this close, this is no different.'_

Except it_ was_ different than before.

She had since realized two very important things that put their whole relationship into a different perspective; every touch, every smile, and every look.

She was the prince.

Sucy was the princess.

There were more reasons than just duty or friendship that made her want to stay by Her Highness' side; more reasons than just appreciation or her lower class standing that made Her Highness' face in the morning so awe inspiring.

_'You love her don't you?'_

Akko audibly gulped.

She did.

She _really_ did.

"...There."

The warmth of Her Highness' magic finally receded, distracting Akko from her epiphany before her poor heart exploded from excitement.

"How does it feel?" The princess asked quietly, noisily fidgeting with her rings to avoid accidentally touching her shield's skin again.

Akko quickly dropped her binder and tunic back down, jumping up to her feet; excited and relieved to be fully clothed once again. "Like they were never there." She replied, turning to meet the princess' with a smile and stretching up towards the ceiling. "No pain, no soreness! You really are a miracle worker."

Her Highness bashfully looked down at the floor, the blood flowing through her face again given no reason to cool. "I'm surprised you were able to sit still for so long." She quipped, taking in each an every fibre of the defender's leather boots.

The attempt at normalization was appreciated, but it would take more than a few jabs to put the genie back in the bottle. It would be awkward between them for a while.

"S-Shall we return to the others then?" The defender asked with a slightly forced smile, offering out her elbow. "I mean- if you're done with me?"

Closing her eyes peacefully, Her Highness slipped her arms through Akko's; returning to her favourite spot at the defender's side where her face could not be seen.

"I'll never be done with you." She murmured with a smirk. "You'll forever be my work in progress."

**-oOo-**

Dutchess Cavendish and her daughter awaited them in the foyer, interrupting their conversation with Captain Hanbridge to greet the princess and her shield.

"Dost thou feel better defender?" Diana inquired, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Akko bowed, careful to not jostle Her Highness or make it awkward for her arms. "Yes My Lady, thank you. Her Highness is truly a gift from The Nine."

She couldn't see the princess' face behind the veil of pink hair, but the defender was almost certain her automatic response caused them to burn the same shade of pink.

Despite the flush to her cheeks, Her Highness said nothing, keeping her eyes closed and face hidden the best she could; seemingly content to become an accessory to her defender for the rest of the day.

"We were discussing The Crown's strategy further." The captain explained, crossing his left arm over his chest and bringing his right hand up to his chin. "His Majesty wants to be certain that Her Highness can safely travel between the designated locations."

Akko frowned, averting her gaze from the nobles; though the scars from her slip up that afternoon had been healed and forgotten, the memory of the incident still stung at her pride.

_'Is one misstep enough to reduce thee to a quivering coward?!'_

An angry voice suddenly boomed inside the defender's head, causing the embers burning in her chest to flare up dangerously; scorching her mind.

_'She still lives, with nary a scratch on her body. Learn from it defender! Straighten thy spine! Duty calls!'_

Without any thought put into it, Akko's body did as instructed, her jaw setting firmly and her fingers curling around her sword's pommel. It was a little jarring, if she was being honest, but she couldn't bring herself to feel afraid for some reason.

"If I may ask, sir." She began in a steady tone, face expressionless. "What will Her Highness be doing at these locations?"

He nodded once, as if commending her for asking the correct questions. "Building. The Gift of Arae is an invaluable part of the plan."

Puzzle pieces clicked in the defender's head, and finally she could see the whole plan stretch out in front of her; from the patrols, to the building projects, to the new training regimen.

"If Her Highness is to be away from the castle for a long stretch of time, that would warrant a large defensive force, would it not?" Akko felt a tiny amount of anxiety at the thought of Her Highness being so far from a city for so long, but that anxiety was very quickly smothered by the voices in her head.

_'You are strong.'_ They cried. _'She is strong.'_ And Akko knew this to be true.

_'Together you are unstoppable.'_

Captain Hanbridge nodded again. "Indeed it would, but we can discuss the specifics at a later date. For now, we should be leaving." He turned to Dutchess Cavendish and bowed low. "Our deepest gratitude for having us in thy home, My Lady."

The Dutchess and her eldest mirrored his bow with curtsies of their own. "It was an honour to have Her Highness under my roof, and a joy to leave my bed for even the briefest of moments."

She placed her hand atop her daughter's platinum blonde waves. "See them to the gatehouse Diana. I will retire to my chambers." With another curtsy, Dutchess Cavendish ascended the stairs and disappeared into the sprawling hallways of the manor, leaving the defender with two nobles and a very complacent princess.

"It is a slight walk to where the convoy will be setting up." Lady Cavendish pointed out, gesturing towards the doors. "Shall we?"

Mere moments later, they were through the mudroom and back out into the freezing cold.

With everything that had happened, Akko was slightly surprised to see the sun still rather high in the sky, peaking through the clouds and dripping the slightest amount of warmth on the dying world below.

It really had only been two hours at most.

"Even in this miserable world, rays of light still shine..." Her Highness mused, opening her eyes to watch her step and carefully maneuver through the snow.

"Thou'rt amongst them, my liege." Andrew pointed out, folding his hands behind his back with a slight smile. "Our people look to The Crown for salvation and hope; thou art the light they follow in the darkness."

His words seemed to lift a small amount of weight from Her Highness' shoulders, replacing it with one far lighter.

Walking past Her Highness's carriage the group of four found a simple white gazebo to stand beneath, looking out over the town as civilians went through their daily routines; spending as little time out in the cold as possible.

The Captain stroked his chin, in a similar stance to how Her Highness and the defender had found him earlier."Perhaps once the roads are being patrolled actively with garrisons along the way, the dukedoms can re-open trade routes." He thought aloud, eyes glazing as if he could see the sprawling system of defenses stretch out into the distance. "It would certainly make it easier to ration out the kingdom's varying food stores."

Akko tried to visualize her own map of Luna, overlaying it with the much smaller map the knights had passed around at the meeting. She could vaguely see the planned garrisons, like glowing embers scattered across the kingdom; one in the centre of the plains south of Wedinburgh, three to the east of Castle Manbavaran, two to opposite sides of Torinosu.

Divide, conquer, destroy.

She would have a lot of work to do.

"Nines... what is that?!"

Shaken from the puzzle cube that was her brain by Lady Cavendish's sudden shocked gasp, Akko followed the noble's gaze out and away from the town, turning pale at what her eyes found.

Storm clouds blustered in the distance, their dark gray colour sending a familiar chill of dread and spark of fury down her spine. Lightning flashed from within, sending strikes of energy towards the earth and rumbles of thunder sweeping across the plains.

"The beast..." Her Highness explained breathlessly, tightening her grip on her defender's arm, like she wanted to physically restrain the brunette to keep her from escaping. "The storm that heralds its presence."

The defender's hand twitched on the hilt of Claiomh Solais, watching as the clouds slowly moved across the horizon. Instead of continually coming closer, the blizzard passed the town by, dark winds no doubt leaving utter devastation in its wake.

"W-Why isn't it coming this way?" She asked, giving voice to the question they all were thinking. The heir to Luna was a mere kilometer away, surrounded by a myriad of innocent souls; easy pickings for the full power of the beast's frozen legion.

Captain Hanbridge's face scrunched into what looked like a snarl, a mix of disgust and anger burning in his emerald green eyes. "Who could comprehend the workings of such monstrous beings?"

"...Perhaps something has caught its attention." He suggested, contradicting his initial reply immediately. "Something more important than the slaughter of innocents."

The four of them stood in silence, individually contemplating on the answer as the storm moved further and farther away; eventually nothing more than a blot in the distance. Akko's attention could never stay on the storm for long as Her Highness' increasingly tight grip was beginning to cut off blood.

Actually turning to look down at the princess' face, the defender felt her heart clench in pain.

Her Highness' face was ghostly, her already pale skin somehow turning three shades whiter, her eyes jumping from one spot to the next as she gnawed ferociously on her lip. Akko had only seen her this scared twice before; both times involving encounters with the beast and its legion.

She remembered the morning Her Highness had awoken in tears, Cirenia's gift providing far worse nightmares than the human brain could come up with naturally.

_"The beast attacks the castle..."_

_"We all die..."_

Gently grasping onto Princess Sucy's right wrist, the defender pulled it off of her arm, bringing it up to her mouth for a chaste kiss. It was embarrassing, it made her heart flip upside down, but Akko tried desperately not to show it; Her Highness needed her to be a rock, someone she could lean against.

It certainly brought colour back into the royal's face: a lovely pink flush filling her cheeks as her eyes burnt into the top of her defender's head.

"I-I'm scared too, Your Highness." Akko murmured, placing another kiss on the princess' knuckle. "But we- we're together on this. Together we'll figure something out."

Glancing up to meet her charge's face, the defender offered a small sincere smile.

"Together we will be unstoppable."


	20. Warmth

**-oOo-**

The wind howled violently all around her, its bitter chill piercing right through her numerous layers and into her core. It was so _cold_; the kind of cold that transcended simple heat conservation, pulling away your very soul.

She could see them, hiding right at the edge of her visibility, their blue eyes glowing menacingly in the fog. Her hand gripped tighter around the mace's leather handle, walking faster through the underbrush.

The legion had given chase relentlessly across the kingdom, and now their dark storm hovered right above her head, prepping her for the kill. She couldn't see the beast in the blizzard, but she knew it was there from the sounds of falling trees and the malicious aura pressing heavy against her spine.

_'Keep moving... It will never grow weary... it never stop.'_

Voices in her head kept the rest of her body from shutting down, prompting her to move faster and faster as the storm got worse. The chill of the wind scratched at her face and eyes, making it difficult to see the path forward through the trees.

Her eventual break into a sprint seemed to surprise the creatures that hid in the fog, goading them to action. They snarled, growled, and made a plethora of other sounds that no living thing should have ever been able to make.

And then the spears began to fly.

Razor sharp icicles whistled through the air, most just barely missing her head or heart. She ducked and swerved to the best of her ability, but there were too many and she was only human.

Pain blasted through the knight's side as her skin was pierced through by a large spear of deadly frost, and instantly the flesh around the wound began to die. Her legs buckled and she stumbled, tripping over herself and falling face first into the snow, shivering like an autumn leaf in the wind.

It was just. so. _cold._

_'Stand up.'_ Her mind screamed as the dark aura behind her grew closer and closer. '_Stand up, or all of this is over.'_

She could hear it approaching, but her body wouldn't cooperate; crystals of ice tearing holes in her flesh every time she tried to get any further than her knees.

_'Chariot... Stand. Up.'_

With agonizing slowness the knight turned her body, fully engulfed by the cold and dark as it seeped into her soul. Ten eyes, bright white points like the starts in the sky stared back at her, on a long face devoid of any other features.

For so long she had fought, running from a malicious entity she could never quite see clear enough, always looking back over her shoulder to see those shining lights staring back at her in the fog, but never had she felt so _hopeless._

A giant hand like the stump of a tree reached out towards her, radiating with the chill of a northern wind, and then all she knew was pain.

_'Its... So... Cold...'_

**-oOo-**

"So today's the day huh?" Swordmaster O'Neil grinned, back-stepping out of the defender's range as her practice sword swung wide, just barely missing. "You think you're ready?"

Akko nodded silently, a look of determination burning in her eyes as she transfered her momentum into another swing. "I know I'm ready."

For the past week, Defender Kagari had switched her daily training into overdrive, taking every possible opportunity to better herself physically and mentally. She woke up hours earlier than usual, fell asleep later, and spent every possible moment with a blade in her hand.

"You better not let me down." Amanda chuckled, blocking the defender's strike and pressing against her in a bind. "I don't want my boys and girls to have to pick up your slack."

As quickly as it was initiated, the bind ended with Akko gaining the upper hand, knocking the swordsmaster off balance. Taking advantage of the opening, the defender took a final upward swing, sending the other knight to the ground.

"That's what you trained them for." Akko retorted smugly, pointing he dulled tip of her blade in Amanda's face.

Her win was short lived however, as one swing of the swordmaster's leg was enough to knock her over on her back. "Yeah." The redhead laughed, sitting up and brushing the dirt from her back. "Helping out when you mess up."

Puffing her cheeks, Akko stared up at the slowly brightening sky towards Her Highness tower; at the way the sunrise reflected off of the frost. The princess was most likely still sleeping, hopefully dreaming something pleasant before their mission began.

"I think I'm gonna head up early this morning." The defender hummed, moving her arms back in forth in a sort of snowless angel before rolling to her stomach and pushing up. "There's some stuff I need to think about."

Swordmaster O'Neil nodded in understanding, sticking out an arm in request. "That's fine, I have to get the convoy prepared anyway."

Goodbyes said, Defender Kagari wandered over to where Claiomh Solais was planted in the ground. The snow around it had been melted away in a vague circle, revealing the slowly dying grass underneath; it made Akko's eyebrows raise.

"Look at you, fighting them without me."

Chariot's estranged sword radiated heat, feeling like the flames of an open hearth on the defender's skin. She hesitantly reached out towards the blade's hilt, warily eyeing the shimmering green glyphs as they glowed a dim white light.

Though she felt the heat intensify the closer her hand got, there was no pain when her fingers wrapped around the handle; it was suddenly just a sword.

Akko stared down at the blade for a few seconds longer than she probably should have before silently sliding it back into its sheath and making her way back into the castle.

Numerous servants greeted her with smiles, a few with polite waves, though all of them began whispering to eachother the second they were out of the defender's line of sight.

_"I heard the princess..."_

_"She didn't..."_

_"...and she blushed!"_

_"So cuuute..."_

Her Highness was hardly shy about showing her affection when Luna's most loyal were around; constantly teasing her shield with lewd statements, demanding to be held or kissed on the hand, and those _looks..._

When no one was trying to actively hide it, word eventually spread, gaining speed fast.

Even Haya had asked her about it earlier that week during breakfast. The little raven haired child had grown to absolutely idolize the princess, and the concept of her two heroes being so close was like four birthdays come at once.

"Is it true you and Her Highness are courting?!" She asked excitedly, slamming both fists down on the table. "Have you kissed her yet?!"

The defender's entire face exploded into a red hot mess, her brain overheating as images of the princess's lips so close to her own flashed behind her eyes.

"N-N-NO!" Akko cried, flailing her arms in random uncontrollable motions, as if to swat away the indecent pictures her mind conjured from the depths of her wildest dreams. "I- uh- I'm- I mean we're j-just close f-f-friends!"

Haya looked disappointed, deflating somewhat. "So you don't like her like that?"

"_Yes_!" Akko pointed with one finger before suddenly pulling it back; creasing both eyebrows together harshly. "I- I mean no? Uh..."

It was an interesting morning to say the least.

Taking her time walking up the steps of Her Highness tower, running a gloved hand along the magically constructed brickwork, Defender Kagari's mind wandered to her charge.

It had only been a month or two since she had met Her Highness, at yet Akko could honestly say without a doubt that the heir to Luna was one of her best friends. Time moved more slowly when the defender and princess were together, what was in reality only a few short weeks together felt like years of companionship.

_'And now thou must temper that bond in the fires of combat.'_

There would no doubt be danger during the mission; no doubt be attacks by threats large and small, and Akko would have to protect her best friend throughout it all. The defender cringed, thinking back to the way her anger and lust for vengeance drove her to leave Her Highness' side, dropping her responsibility onto others.

_'They deserved to die... You made the right call...'_ A voice whispered, a deeper and older replica of her own voice, coated in thick layers of venom and malice.

Such voices would have to be kept under control when they were back on the road; she would stay by Her Highness' side no matter what.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Akko silently creaked the princess' bedchamber door open, closing it just as quietly behind her before tugging off her boots and slowly tiptoeing her way up to Her Highness' bedside where the heir to Luna still lay sleeping.

She looked so peaceful in her dreams, a sight that brought great relief to the defender. Her Highness- in all 6 or 7 weeks Akko had known her -was never the best sleeper, whether that was from the constant nightmares or the simple inability to enter that deepest layer of restful sleep, the results were the same.

And yet here she was, cocooned in her many blankets: her hair splayed all about the pillows like a halo, both arms crossed over her chest like a sort of self-hug, her lips opening and closing as she murmured sweet nothings in her sleep.

"Mmm... war..m..." She mumbled, rubbing her head against the pillow like a cat.

The defender could feel her heart flip and a wide smile sneak its way onto her face at the fully unguarded version of her charge on display. In her dreams, Sucy was free; not tied down by the duties of a princess, not crushed by the weight of an entire kingdom's problems, just free to be just Sucy.

Akko liked just Sucy.

**-oOo-**

It was hours before Her Highness began to stir, just as the morning sun was beginning to be swallowed by grey clouds. Akko leaned forward, resting her face in both hands; smiling at the way the princess' face scrunched in irritation for being pulled from dreamland.

With a full body stretch and a deep intake of air, Her Highness' eyes fluttered open, her beautiful red and black orbs staring up at the ceiling for a few moments as she adjusted to the real world.

Eventually her half-lidded gaze fell on the defender, causing a wide grin to slowly crease her lips.

"...Well isn't this a sight to wake up to?"

The princess freed a hand from her tangle of blankets, reaching up to brush her knuckles against Akko's cheek. "How lucky I am..."

Though the defender had gotten used to Her Highness' merciless teasing and flirting, she could never stop her face or neck from flushing in embarrassment.

"G-Good morning, Your Highness." Akko stumbled, placing a hand over the princess' on her cheek. "You seemed to sleep well?"

"Indeed." She replied, pulling her hand back to cover a sudden yawn. "And rightly so; the next few weeks will contain naught but stress."

It took a bit of shuffling to free the princess from her nest of blankets, but she eventually was able to sit up against the headboard stretching her arms out to the side.

"How have you been sleeping, dearest defender?" Her Highness inquired in turn, looking into the shield's eyes with a sincere yet serious smile. "Hopefully not tossing and turning for my sake..."

Scratching the back of her neck, the defender avoided the princess' gaze. "It's been okay I guess..." She answered vaguely. That would have been it, but seeing the princess disappointed expression prompted Akko to continue.

"I'll always worry about you, Your Highness." She admitted, offering her leather clad palm to Her Highness before she could request it. "Even in my dreams, you're the only thing on my mind."

The princess looked down at their joined hands bashfully, a light pink tint below her eyes.

"I suppose there is nothing I can do to rectify that..."

Akko shook her head. "I'm afraid not." She then reached up with a single finger, tilting Her Highness chin upwards so that their eyes met once more. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Her Highness smiled softly, giving a gentle squeeze to her shield's hand.

The pair fell quiet there after, content to simply stare out the window as the world awoke to another uncertain day. But the silence didn't last, and it wasn't long until the defender heard the door slowly creaking open below, followed by the familiar sound of silverware clinking together.

Sure enough, seconds later, a familiar head of orange hair made her way up the stairs carrying a silver tray.

"Ah, Defender Kagari!" Lotte greeted with a sunny smile. "You are here before me this morning; did the swordmaster have to leave early?"

The shield nodded, ferrying Her Highness morning tea from handmaiden to princess. "She said she needed to make sure everything was ready for today, but I had some stuff to deal with as well."

"Yes, it seems many in the castle are doing something similar..." Lotte hummed, sprinkling a brown powder- likely cinnamon -onto the princess breakfast. "I spent most of last night guiding replacements through my duties."

Akko's brows drooped down for a second in confusion before her brain sussed out the probable conclusion. As this was a long term trip, there would be many servants and knights joining the convoy; it would be strange if the princess personal handmaid was not amongst them.

"Speaking of said preparations." Her Highness' voice brought both of her servants' gazes upward to meet her eye. "I would wish for both of thee to remain in my carriage throughout the journey."

Being with Her Highness in an enclosed space did sound quite pleasant to the defender, but there was a hint of reluctance wrapping around that feeling. Akko wanted to be proactive: she wanted to be able to see the oncoming landscape with her own eyes and keep vigil over the princess, not simply sit and wait for any news of attack.

But the princess' orders were absolute, and so Defender Kagari bowed her head alongside the servant girl.

"As you wish, Your Highness."

Perhaps in the company of friends, the voices wouldn't be so loud.

**-oOo-**

The morning carried on, and Akko quietly accompanied Her Highness as she checked on her own preperations: what outfits she would wear, food they would eat, and the order in which she would raise each garrison.

Finally, the defender found herself being led out of the castle in a familiar direction; a high stone wall to their right, garden troughs filled with nothing but snow to their left.

"The smith, Your Highness?" Akko inquired, looking down at the pink haired girl firmly attached to her arm. "Weapons for the guards?"

Her Highness shook her head, closing her eyes and allowing her shield to take the lead. "Over and ready to go." She answered succinctly. "I had something else made."

Defender Kagari was curious, but let it go for the time being; she would get an answer very soon, there was no need to rush. She remained silent until her skin was once more greeted by the warmth of the smithy.

"Ah! Welcome Your Highness!" Smith Albrechtsberger bowed low as the pair entered his shop. "My daughter is just polishing your item." He quickly poked his head into the back and murmured something in a foreign language Akko didn't recognize.

"The sketches you provided were quite detailed, Your Highness." The blacksmith complimented with a respectful smile. "Just like with your last order; you certainly have an eye for such things."

The princess and smith looked Akko up and down together, nodding with pride at how well the uniform fit and just how good it looked on her. Shuffling awkwardly from the attention, the defender pulled her arm from Her Highness' grip and did a slow spin with both arms out to the side.

"Mmm." Her Highness purred, gazing at her shield with a half-lidded smolder. "I do don't I?"

_"Finished."_

A small voice, barely above a whisper, brought all eyes towards the back room where Constanze then emerged from behind the door frame, clutching a beautiful shield against her chest.

Slowly making her way towards the defender, the quiet little girl bowed, placing her completed project into Akko's hands.

The heater shield was brilliantly crafted; there wasn't a single bump or dent on its surface, and the perfectly smooth red face shimmered against the fires of the forge. The edges were trimmed with four separate pieces of polished brass, the top two shaped to join each other and the rest in three points, the middle most point just a bit taller than the others. In the centre of the shield was set the mark of the kingdom: a golden circle with three diamond shaped protrusions set at equal angles from eachother like the points of a triangle.

"A shield of the princess must have a shield of their own, no?" Her Highness smiled, stepping into the defender's view on the other side of the protective metal plate. "Now thou hast the means to protect us both."

Princess Sucy placed her hands around both of Akko's almost like she was helping to hold the shield. "Only one thing remains before it is truly complete." She said vaguely, closing her eyes.

Instantly Akko could feel the surging warmth of magical energy on her hands and looked down just in time to see the shield become enveloped in blood red fire.

"I grant thee the blessings of Capella. By her unbendable will, thou hold'st a wall of steel that shall never falter; an eternal friend that shall stand between thee and the most vile of demons."

Claiomh Solais grew hot on the defender's hip, surging with energy as the scarlet flames intensified; fading when they finally died.

Twice now had the princess gifted Akko with forms of defense, and this time she had even gifted the defender with a piece of her own strength.

"Thou'rt my protector; thy duty is to protect me..." Her Highness murmured with a warm affectionate smile, helping her defender attach the shield to her left arm. "Yet nowhere does it state I cannot do the same."


	21. Departure

**-oOo-**

"All right! Put her down right there!" As the morning sun began to peak above the kingdom, voices slowly began to cry out one by one until the entirety of Castle Town was alive with the sound of hard working men and women.

There were at least twenty different caravans, each of them slowly being filled with supplies by servants, soldiers, and townsfolk.

From her place upon the eastern castle wall, Akko looked out over the town, her red eyes taking in each droplet of colour amidst the sea of grey and white. Earthy browns of wooden boxes, light pinks of fair skin nipped by the cold, greens of varying kinds of vegetable; life continued on, even with the claws of icy death around its neck.

Her Highness released a breath at Akko's side, grip around the defender's arm tightening.

"The Crown was not expecting such a groundswell of outside assistance." She hummed, tilting her head so that the sunlight could continue warming her face. "We may find ourselves leaving earlier than planned."

The shield nodded along silently, watching as a father and son rushed in to help a pair of servants carry one of the heavier crates. For weeks it had felt like Castle Town had been slowly dying, less and less civilians filling its streets every day, but in a matter of hours it felt like the entire kingdom had flooded into the streets.

"It is inspiring to watch." The princess mused aloud. "Simple citizens expending energy for the good of those so far removed from their own lives."

A large grin then slowly began to creep onto the royal's face; her eyelids falling shut as a chuckle vibrated through her body. "If I recall, that was how we first met."

"Maybe your mind isn't so strange after all."

The sound of Her Highness' joyful laughter was beyond compare; pulling Akko's attention away from the bustling city below to simply observe the way the princess' hair bounced with each puff of air.

It looked so _soft_, and a tiny voice in the back of Akko's head begged her to reach out and wrap a lock of purple hair around her fingers. But she didn't do that; choosing instead to silently take one of the princess' hands off of her arm and bring it to her lips.

Her Highness smile shrunk to something small and reserved, though equally genuine; a ghostly pink tinge appearing just below her eyes.

"A sheckle for thy thoughts?" She inquired, making no move to pull her hand away from the defender's doting kisses. "Thou'st been wordless for quite some time."

Defender Kagari squeezed the princess' hand, placing it against her shoulder as she looked out past the walls of Castle Town towards the horizon.

"It might sound stupid to someone who actually has prophetic abilities..." She began hesitantly, unsure of how to turn the maelstrom of warring thoughts, ideas, and emotions inside of herself into words. "But I have this feeling... something like sadness or fear that I can't pin down the reason for."

"Do you think something happened?" Her Highness proposed. "There is a great deal of magic in and around you at all times; perhaps the Lady of the Blue Moon has given you a glimpse?"

"Maybe..." Akko replied with a noncommittal hum. The explanation sounded probable, but a twitch in the defender's gut told her it wasn't the answer she was looking for. "We should all just stay on guard, no matter how well the mission goes."

"Any other course of action would disappoint me, Defender."

The sudden deeper and gravelier, distinctly not-princess-like voice from her left caused Akko's head to snap to the side.

"Y-Your Majesty!" It took less than a second for Akko's neurons to rub together in such a way to allow her to recognize the man now stood next to her. Her head dipped low in a sort of bow, though carefully as to not drag Her Highness down with her.

"Listening in on our conversations, Father?" Princess Sucy snarled, moving her eyes in the opposite direction of the king. "How rude."

Instead of reacting with equally harsh words or an offended shout, King Ataas began to laugh; a low and earthy sound that brought flashes of Knight Yanson into the defender's mind.

"I am the ruler of this land, my dear." He chuckled, quickly glancing sideways at the side of his rather grumpy daughter.

"I listen in on _all_ conversations."

Akko wasn't sure how to respond to His Majesty's admission; it disturbed her that the king would joke about spying on his people, sure, but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to feel upset.

"Did- Did you come to see us off, Your Majesty?" The defender stumbled, freeing Her Highness' hand so that she could return both to their rightful place around her shield's arm.

King Ataas nodded, turning and stepping closer to the pair. "Indeed I have, Defender. To say my farewell and to give this to my daughter." From somewhere within his elaborate fur cloak and layers of fine clothing, His Majesty pulled out something small wrapped in dark silk embroidered with gold.

"Thou shalt be far away from this place for a long span of time." He began, slowly and methodically opening the bundle. "Therefore I gift this to thee; that thy path to the tenth will not be delayed."

Unfolding the final crease, the king revealed a simple yet beautifully crafted silver necklace. The glittering chain of tiny loops was fed through the top of a matte, vaguely leaf shaped ornament; the symbol of the kingdom etched into its surface.

Though her senses were not nearly as refined as His Majesty or Her Highness, Akko could smell the strong aroma of magic; feel its warmth radiating against her face. There was nothing simple about this necklace.

Her Highness glanced from the necklace, to her father, and then back down to his hands again; a slightly confused expression on her face. "I thought you wished for my training to be delayed..." The princess' arms untangled from her shield's bicep, and she reached out hesitantly towards the gift.

The king shook his head, his expression remaining pleasant yet neutral. "No. Thy training will not be rushed or pushed forward, but never shall it be delayed."

Akko bowed her head again, ferrying the amulet to Her Highness' outstretched hand, placing her own gently atop it. "Would you like me to assist, Your Highness?" She questioned respectfully, locking eyes with the royal.

She nodded once in response, slowly removing her hood and gathering her hair into a bundle so that the defender could access her neck.

Taking a step back and behind the princess, Defender Kagari reached her arms around her charge, holding both ends of the chain. Tentatively she brought the necklace up to Her Highness' neck, pulling the ends together as the princess held the pendant to her collarbone.

Fastening the clasps together, Akko couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the nape of Her Highness' neck; actively fighting the temptation press her lips against it numerous times.

She might have lost that fight, if His Majesty was not mere feet away and watching intently, but as it were, the defender's preference to having her head attached to her shoulders overruled any other personal desires.

"There you go, Your Highness."

The princess looked down at the pendant, thumbing the inscription with a conflicted expression. "Thank you Defender... Father."

Her gentle grip suddenly clenched into a fist around the molded silver, her eyes turning downcast. "I have acted unfairly to thee... thou only wished the best for me and I was resentful."

His Majesty reached out, placing a heavy hand on top of his daughter's head. "Chin up, my child." He began softly, the harsh undertones in the kingly voice smoothing out to something better suited for a father. "Thou only wishes to protect thy people; there is no shame in such a desire."

Pressing his dry and cracked lips into Her Highness' purple tresses, His Majesty closed his eyes, voice dripping with pride.

"You will make a fine queen one day."

**-oOo-**

After a few more moments of quiet conversation, the two royals parted, Her Highness and her shield making their way down towards their carriage, His Majesty remaining atop the wall to see the whole convoy off.

As was usual, the princess allowed Akko to lead the way as she drifted off into her mental landscape. Her Highness's gaze was turned downwards as she walked blindly, holding the pendant between her index finger and thumb deep in thought, feeling the grooves of the inscription against her skin.

"My mission must be successful." She stated seriously, an unreadable expression solidifying on her face. "My father and our people have placed their hopes on me."

"No one loves the people of this kingdom more than you do." The defender stated simply as her eyes scanned the hallway ahead, the words that flowed from her lips nothing short of fact. "Your people know that."

Her Highness fidgeted harder, sliding the edge of her nail through the pendant's many grooves. "But what if I haven't trained hard enough? What if I can't build the garrison? Maybe my father should have-"

"**No**. "

Akko suddenly halted their movement, turning her head to lift the princess' chin; staring her straight in the eyes. "_You_ are their next queen; _you_ are the one chosen by the Nine."

"Your people believe in you, the Nine believe in you; I believe in you." The defender reassured, softening her face and offering her best sunny smile. "Please believe in yourself."

"We will succeed, and no matter what happens, your most loyal will all be at your side, supporting you."

Her Highness looked back down at her shoes, fidgeting for a second more before burying her face in the defender's arm. "I'm sorry..."

"...And thank you."

The pair fell back into a mutual silence, continuing out of the castle through the eastern gate and into the plaza, where a sea of soldiers and civilians milled about and rushed from place to place.

It didn't take long for someone to recognize their next queen, and from there the rest of the plaza was informed very quickly. The crowds parted around Her Highness' intended path, and every single man and woman bowed their heads low in reverence, pushing down the heads of children who couldn't read the situation.

Lotte Yanson stood at the other end of the cleared cobble path, bowing next to the royal carriage and a small bag of her own.

"Your Highness." She greeted, rising to meet the princess. "The convoy is stocked and ready to ride at your command."

Her Highness turned her head to take a look around them, meeting eyes with a few of her subjects as they stared back in silent awe. In the silence of the plaza, Akko could hear the wind whistling in the branches of dead trees, like the discordant playing of amateur court musicians.

"Perhaps a few parting words would be adpt?" Lotte suggested in a hushed tone, stepping close to the pair. "One last boost of morale?"

The princess shuffled anxiously, fiddling with her new pendant with one hand; hugging Akko's arm tight with the other. "There's nothing I could..."

Defender Kagari gently pulled on her arm to get Her Highness' attention, meeting her eyes with silent reassurance and encouragement.

_'You can do it; I'll be right here.'_

Reluctantly letting go of her friend, the princess stepped forward, clearing her throat and straightening her spine.

"Dear citizens of Luna!" She began, stretching her arms out in front of her like a hug. "Thou'st done thy country proud this morrow! To leave the safety of a warm hearth to volunteer in our preparations is truly admirable."

Her voice was loud and firm, similar to how His Majesty regarded the Council of Lords but with far more affection for the audience than his formal tone.

"On this day, we depart to push back an enemy that has heretofore been merely a shape in the mist; unknowable and untouchable."

Her Highness' expression became stern and serious, her nose turning slightly upward.

"Our enemy believes themselves free to treat the kingdom of the Nine as their hunting fields; to seize this protected land as their own." She paused, looking over her people; her jaw set firmly.

"We shall demonstrate just how wrong they are."

Shouts of approval arose from the sea of people, Her Highness' words sparking flames of righteous indignation with their hearts. Akko felt a similar anger in her chest: this kingdom was theirs by divine decree, molded and crafted by the Nine for their chosen.

The beast would be slain by her hand; its ruin scorched and its ashes scattered across the kingdom to feed the new life of spring.

"We have learned, we have planned, we have prepared! Our knights have trained to slay these monsters of ice and frost; first blood has already been spilled!"

"With the Nine at our backs, granting us strength; we ride forth in their name! _For Luna!_"

A great roar of voices erupted from all around, from the carriages and their cavaliers; from the mass of servants and villagers, echoing off of the buildings and up the main road to reverberate out into the rest of the kingdom.

**"FOR LUNA!"**

"Get to your carriages!" Akko shouted, relaying a mentally exhausted princess' orders to the rest of the plaza. "Prepare to depart!"

As the crowds of knights and servants and civilians scattered and dispersed, the defender turned to Her Highness, reaching for her hands. Both were brought up to her mouth independently, and both received their fair share of gentle kisses.

"That was wonderful, Your Highness. I didn't know I could have more motivation to see this mission through to completion." The princess bashfully averted her eyes, muttering an inaudible 'thank you' into the crowded soundscape.

As the prince in Her Highness' fairy tale, Akko relished in witnessing these rapid flips in her personality: from a confident conqueror and ruler of millions one minute, to a flushed maiden unsure of how to react to affection the next.

"Shall we, Your Highness? Defender?" Lotte suggested, gesturing towards the royal carriage; her bag already bundled in her arms. "All of our personal effects have already been packed."

"We shall." Her Highness agreed, leading her two most loyal servants around the carriage to the cart's door. Akko offered her hand out to the princess, helping her up the step and into the transport where she could slide across the seats to the opposite window.

Lotte joined her next, placing her bag on the seat opposite of the princess and climbing in to sit next to it. The servant girl seemed rather awed by the carriage's interior, leaf green eyes scanning the intricate golden accents and finely polished dark wood.

"The seats..." She murmured, childlike wonder in her voice. "They are so soft..."

"Defender, you must feel this!" Akko thought it was rather cute, seeing someone so married to their job act their age for once; looking over to Her Highness, it was evident she felt the same.

"Do not simply stand there Defender; thou'rt wasting valuable heat." Her Highness prodded, patting the seat next to her. "If thou art eager to be free of it, I am feeling slightly chilly."

Taking one last look around the plaza, Akko watched the crowds thin out until only the volunteers and onlookers remained, leaving her as the last hold up.

It would be some time before they returned to this place, and she wanted to keep a vivid picture in her mind. The grand spires of the castle overhead, glistening in the light; puffs of smoke climbing from every chimney, the sweet smell of burning birch carried on the wind.

Defender Kagari had grown to love this town, the castle sitting at its highest point, and all the people living there.

She was eager to see how it would change come spring.

Just as the shield was about to break her gaze and duck down into the carriage, her eyes caught sight of a smaller crowd of people near the back; some still bandaged, some with scars, and one who was missing an awful lot of hair.

"Papa..."

The people of Torinosu smiled at her from afar, her father standing as tall as he could at the head of the group; supported by Mr. Norihiko and the shopkeep from down the road. Though his face was strained in effort; both from standing and from trying to see his daughter from a distance, Mr. Kagari was smiling.

Akko smiled back.

_'I'll make you all proud...'_


	22. Sights and Sounds

**-oOo-**

The thundering of hooves against solid earth rumbled from all around, muffled by the glass separating the interior of the carriage from the outside world. It was rather warm inside- the heat radiating from three bodies bouncing off of insulated paneling and returning from whence it came -but Her Highness sat close to her defender anyway, getting comfortable against the brunette's arm.

Politely covering her mouth to stifle a giggle, Lotte amusedly observed the princess' content smile. "You seem to be a servant of many uses, Defender Kagari."

Akko peered down at Her Highness, heart flipping at the sight of her calm and relaxed expression. She looked heavenly, like an angel sent down from above to reward this world for its loyalty.

"Whatever Her Highness needs of me..." She partly answered, turning to look out the window as the world rushed by; holding back the blood that was attempting to rush into her cheeks.

Her Highness nuzzled her cheek against the defender's shoulder, slowly lulled by the gentle vibrations of the carriage as it rolled through the forest into another dream.

"What I requirest of thee..." She mumbled, wrapping her arms around the defender's to prove her point. "Is for thou to remain seated hither and be still."

"All of my will is required for raising defenses." The princess explained, pausing midway to yawn. "Any extra rest beforehand will only benefit us in that endeavor."

The redheaded servant girl nodded once respectfully. "We will keep our conversations to a murmur, Your Highness. Sleep well."

Her Highness' only response was a hum, content to relinquish her consciousness to the aether and leave her body in the care of the two most loyal to her. The princess' breathing began to quickly even out after that, until at last she was completely gone and there was no worry of jostling her awake with their quiet conversation.

Akko scratched at the top of her thigh, pondering how she should instigate; there were so many ideas she wanted to run by someone else, so many things to learn about her co-worker.

"How is your father?" She eventually settled on, her lips curling up ever so slightly. "Do you know where he'll be stationed during this whole thing?" It continued to feel strange to the defender- knowing the father before meeting the daughter actually in her age range -so Knight Yanson was usually the jumping off point whenever the opportunity to speak with Lotte arose.

"I believe he was originally going to join our convoy, before Captain Hanbridge moved him." The ginger answered, adjusting her glasses. "Training Duty I believe. He has spent the most time around those things: he has an idea of how they move and attack."

"Has he told you much regarding them?" Defender Kagari train of thought diverged, following the conversation to its next logical step; she was interested in learning how much Lotte knew about the entire situation.

"He- He tries to keep it vague and general." She seemed to fidget, adjusting her glasses again even though they were in no way skewed or in need of fixing. "But sometimes I hear him muttering under his breath, or sometimes after a few drinks something will slip..."

"Is it true what he says...? About the... people they kill?"

A grim expression washed across Akko's face, the way her jaw clenched and eyes hardened answering the question without any words having to come out of her mouth.

"It's a strong foe!" Akko declared with a clenched fist, attempting clear they air of the suffocating tension. "But not unbeatable by any means!"

"Yes..." The servant girl murmured, looking down at the floor of the carriage, feeling the vibrations of wheels rolling across rough dirt in her feet. "You have slain many of them haven't you?"

Nodding slowly, the defender also began looking down, down at her fists which clenched and relaxed anxiously, thinking of what to say.

This air was not being cleared any time soon.

"I... I used to try to keep count of the people." She began, taking one last look at her gloved palms before letting her head rest against the princess', her eyes glazing over. "I wanted to know the number. I still do but..."

"Sometimes when I'm fighting I just- I loose myself for a while."

Her little 'problem' had slowly gotten worse over time; she tried to ignore it, but then it started affecting how she did her job. "When that happens... it's hard to remember what happened. Like thinking about a dream: so vivid at first but then it slowly disappears."

"And there's so much fire now- they might just turn to ashes..."

Lotte said nothing in response to the vague statement, sitting politely with her hands in her lap. She remained an idle listener, waiting to take in everything Akko wanted to say first; saving her words for when they were needed.

"I'm worried that-" Defender Kagari closed her eyes, listening to the princess' quiet breaths; allowing them to calm her anxious mind before continuing. "One day I might black out while fighting villagers they've stolen; when I wake up there might be nothing left of them."

"What if I loose the count?" She asked, her voice wavering more with each word. "What if I don't know anymore?"

"What if... What if I can't find out who they were?"

The red haired servant girl thought for a few moments about how to answer, looking once more at the floor. "Have you talked to Her Highness about these episodes before?" She asked quietly, answering a question with another question.

Akko's maroon irises shifted, looking at the top of the princess' head, seeing her lovely puce hair at the corner of her eye. "...She's already got too much on her plate. She doesn't need to be worrying about me too."

"Then... a suggestion." Lotte met the defender's eyes, concerned grass green on sorrowful red. "Try to look at their faces, features, clothing: learn what they look like before you fight."

"Get a picture of who they were before... and remember that instead."

**-oOo-**

It took an hour and a half to arrive at the first location, a trip that was mostly tense silence after the princess' two most loyal had ended their conversation. Akko thought long and hard about what the princess' handmaiden had suggested, and out of respect and slight awkwardness, Lotte let the quiet persist.

Once the endless trees outside the window began to thin out, the royal carriage began to diverge from the convoy, coming to a stop as the rest of the convoy continued to their own destination not far away.

"Why are we stopping here?" The defender inquired, trying to see out the rather small window where the other carriages and wagons were stopping.

"Her Highness is to raise the garrison, and will do so from a predetermined location." Lotte explained helpfully, smiling softly at the way Her Highness snuggled deeper into the defender's arm as she was prodded awake. "This was all decided long beforehand."

The princess made a irritable noise, her face scrunching up and her eyes fluttering open.

"Wha..?"

"Rise and shine, Your Highness~" Defender Kagari beamed, reaching over to fix a strands of the princess' hair that had become tangled. "Did you sleep alright?"

Her Highness breathed one full deep breath, stretching herself up towards the ceiling of the carriage before relaxing and letting it all out in a sigh. "I've slept better." She answered, turning to look up at her shield with half lidded eyes and a small smile. "But you make a fine pillow my dear defender."

The defender felt a flush creep on her, staining her cheeks a light shade of pink, and rather than struggle to hold it in, she instead threw open the door of the carriage and escaped from the source of her blush.

Hopping down into the snow, Akko looked out at the highlands that stretched out before them; the trees of the forest thinning out quickly into a large open field. The other wagons that were ahead of their carriage had lined up neatly in an organized grid off to the side, those behind them rolling past to join the rest.

Many of the knights that were once defending the convoy formed a defensive perimeter around the whole area, fifteen or so meters away from where the royal carriage had slowed to a halt. Some remained on horseback, while others stood in ankle high snow, both fists clenched tightly around spears.

Akko could see a rather innocuous blue flag halfway between the perimeter and the carriage- asumedly the predetermined location for the princess to cast her spell from -and looking further past the wall of knights, she could see another red one stuck into the ground, contrasting nicely against the pure whites, grays, and browns of everything else in the area.

_'Probably a marker for where the fort should be?_' She mused internally, before remembering herself and twisting back, offering a stabilizing hand to the princess as she stepped out of the carriage.

"First stop..." Her Highness muttered under her breath, placing one hand on the defender's elbow while the other tugged her cloak tighter around herself. "The faster we do this the better: all should remain ready to move inside once I am finished."

Lotte poked her head out from inside the carriage, adjusting her glasses as she looked out at the same flag Akko had been staring at previously. "I agree, Your Highness. This carriage shall join the others and relay your orders."

Lightly knocking her knuckles against the exterior of the carriage, the ginger servant girl signaled the driver to do just that, closing the door and leaving the shield and the princess in the snow.

"Does a handmaid have the authority to relay orders?" The defender asked innocently, bringing her gloved hand to her chin. Akko had been interested in the varying levels of castle staff for the last few days, as it had recently been brought to her attention that _she_ as 'Shield of the Princess' had quite a lot of say in the hierarchy when it came to the topic of Her Highness' well being.

"My personal one does." The princess replied, tapping her defender's elbow bone in a slow rhythmic pattern. "Not at first, but she's earned it by now. There was a whole ceremony for it."

At that moment, there was a sudden cry from the perimeter, bringing all eyes out towards the field where dark shapes appeared in the mist- some humanoid and some _very much not._

There weren't many; the convoy's main guard easily outnumbering them, but once the creatures' forms became clear, physical numbers began to loose importance in favour of mental fortitude.

Akko felt her eye twitch spastically, her chest clenching uncomfortably at the familiar way light refracted through moving blocks of solid ice.

Multiple golems lumbered slowly across the field towards the wall of soldiers, flanked on both sides by packs of ghostly wolves almost swimming through the snow. At the head of each pack was a lanky humanoid figure, each wearing what looked to be many layers and a cloak; looking closer, Akko could make out very human facial features, frozen into agonized expressions of terror.

Two hunters, similar in their features, _a father and son_, killed by the legion and trapped inside their bones; forced into servitude. Their forearms and calves were encased in ice, unnaturally lengthening the appendages into mockeries of other life: legs of a deer, claws of a bird; an until now unseen difference in the enemy's unit design that made Akko severely uncomfortable.

A person's first sight of the beast's frozen legion was not a pleasant experience, and the defender noticed the way a few of them took a tiny step back as the creatures came closer and closer. But thankfully the rest remained as steel, prompting the outliers to straighten their spines and return their foot to its original hole.

It was always hard looking at the people the beast snatched away from the doors of paradise, to notice who they were and remember, as her feelings of pity and reluctance in her heart conflicted with those of disgust and anger scorching just outside it. The defender could feel that anger growing inside of her, the blue flame housed in her ribcage flaring with rage at the sight of such filth so close to _her_ princess.

As if reading her defender's mind, Her Highness began calmly walking towards the perimeter, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Y-Your Highness?" Akko stuttered, yanking her boot from a rather sticky patch of ice to catch up with the princess.

Her Highness continued on walking at the same pace, allowing her defender to fall into step beside her. "This force lacks numbers: weakening them physically, it lacks a storm to provide visibility and endurance advantages, and it lacks a leader: crippling them strategically."

Reaching the blue flag, the princess turned her head leftwards, a gentle smile creasing her lips. "So I have faith that I will remain unharmed."

"But what if-" The defender was about to object; question her charge's apparent lack of concern with the situation, but a shove from behind sent her stumbling forward, nearly tripping over her feet and face-planting in the snow.

Regaining her footing and looking back, Akko found a wide impish grin plastered onto Her Highness' face, putting a name and face to the culprit.

"Stand right there." She ordered with an amused twinkle in her eye. "Kill anything that slips past the perimeter."

Akko's chest clenched again, the deep azure embers burning through her very skin. _The princess was out in the open, the enemy was so close by, the beast could appear at any moment with an army of thousands._

"But what if they get past me?!" She shouted, her red eyes blown wide with worry.

"Simply make sure it does not come to that!" The princess answered at the same volume, pressing her palms together as her closed eyelids began to leak an amber glow. "Once my hurdle is cleared, the rest will easily follow."

Defender Kagari hesitated for a second, before tearing her eyes away from Her Highness and drawing Claiomh Solais from its sheath, already beginning to feel the cold metal heat up.

"SPINES STRAIGHT!" She yelled to the perimeter, widening her stance. "LET NOTHING CLOSE!"

The leaderless creatures watched from afar, their blue glowing eyes glaring with what could easily be mistaken as hate- hate for the flames of life somehow still burning brightly despite their leader's wishes. Akko's fist clenched harder around the searing handle of Claiomh Solais, a duo of voices now warring inside of her head, each practically screaming in a different ear.

One utterly foaming at the mouth, snarling and cheering for the deaths of The Crown's enemies, thirsting for the blood of evildoers, imagining the sounds they would make as they perished.

One ordering her to stay, reminding the defender of her promise to Her Highness, of her friend's sorrowful expression in that cold foyer, and of the trust His Majesty placed in her.

She tried her best to drone out the more rabid voice, focusing instead on the sounds and sensations of Her Highness, chanting rapidly behind her; her breath heaving in and out without ever interrupting the sentences tumbling past her lips, the warmth of her magic washing against the defender's back, the leg numbing vibrations the spell's sigil on the ground made as it slowly filled up with the princess' words.

One of the frozen hunters- _the son_ -suddenly broke into an animalistic gallop, lunging at a knight on the perimeter when it got close enough, the breathy howl it made very nearly yanking Akko into action. The defender's fingers slowly turned white against her blade's scorching handle, the pain in her hand an anchor, no matter how much she wanted to run in a_nd slice through its throat, tear out its cold empty heart and crush it beneath her foot, smash the bones until it was indistinguishable from the powder around their feet._

In the moment it felt like an eternity- standing there, holding out against her own desires as the hunter bared down on the knight -but in reality it only took a second and a half for his spear to thrust forward and up through the man's chest.

The voice suddenly quieted down, allowing Akko to really hear the _sound_ it made: the dry cracking noise sounding almost nothing like what was once human flesh.

_'You see...?'_ She spoke up once the hunter was once again fully deceased. _'They aren't people- not anymore...'_

_'Why hesitate based on what they used to be? Evil must be purged.'_

As much as the defender wanted to agree- it would certainly be easier on her psyche to treat them like simple monsters and demons -she knew giving the voices even an inch would quickly lead to giving up a mile.

"I'm already crazy..." She grunted aloud in response. "I don't need to be an emotionless killer as well."

_'Stone in all but the heart...'_

The heat at her back intensified, signaling the end of Her Highness' incantation and the activation of the spell proper, and Defender Kagari spun around, stepping closer to Her Highness as the royal's body began to buckle and strain under an unseen weight.

"Alright..." The princess' breathed, her quivering fists filled with barely contained orange flames; the circle of runes at her feet slowly lifting off of the snowy ground, each symbol orbiting her body at faster and faster speeds.

Intense shockwaves rippled off from Her Highness as the earth began to rumble, blowing loose snow up into the air and shaking settled ice from the trees behind her. The frozen beasts on the perimeter backed away from Her Highness, the way they shrank in on themselves making these unfeeling constructs of ice look _scared_.

"By Arae's command!"

With a last cry of effort, the princess thrusted her hands up into the air and the entire field ahead... exploded.

Dirt and grass and snow were thrown up into the air with incredible force, the very earth bending and folding as a spiked watchtower pierced through the ground alongside the rest of a fortress' main building. Corner towers followed, crenelated at the top and slotted along the bottom for archers to easily fire upon attackers from any angle.

Walls came next, towering things of crenelated stone that wrapped around the main guardhouse, leaving a generous amount of space on the inside for horses, carriages, or as many soldiers The Crown could send. The soldiers at the perimeter took four or five steps back when the towers first broke through, the ground below their previous positions replaced by an endless slab of carved stone roughly twenty feet tall.

One of the wolf packs were rapidly buried beneath falling dirt and rock, struggling and flailing beneath the weight of mother earth before dissipating into mist. Finally reacting to the sudden danger, the other pack quickly diverged from eachother, retreating from the perimeter and leaving their four remaining comrades behind to be trapped in a prison of rock.

Akko fumbled to sheath her sword; spinning around, tossing her shield off of to the side, and diving forwards to catch Her Highness when she inevitably collapsed from exhaustion.

"I've got you..." The defender quietly declared, dropping down to her knees and gently grasping the back of her charge's head; wrapping her other arm around the princess' waist as she was pulled into Akko's chest.

Her Highness muttered something between her deep shuddering breaths- something small, grateful, and somehow apologetic that tugged at the defender's heart.

"Shh..." She soothed. "You were awesome- just relax now."

The knights closest to the fortification's gate began to move two by two into the courtyard, making short work of the three golems and one hunter- _the father_ -that were trapped inside, the rest moving in line with the walls to make up for the loss.

Akko scooped Her Highness up into her arms, quickly and smoothly making her way over to where her shield was lying and placing it into the princess' lap. Her Highness seemed to appreciate it for some reason, hugging the metal object like some form of stuffed animal.

"Let's just head inside." The defender giggled, making the slow walk towards the new fort as the grid of caravans began to move again, one row at a time.

"I hope you built yourself a nice room."


	23. Evasion

**-oOo-**

The snowfields around their new fortress were still, claw or snarling fang rising above the sea of white, not a whisper of wind to cry scorn and scratch violently at their flesh. Her Higness' grand creation was a piercing spire against the forest firs, its central watchtower reaching the clouds, flying the colours of Luna.

Servants and workers rushed from room to room within the expansive keep, reinforcing the walls and ceilings, laying down wooden flooring in the living spaces, and lighting empty fireplaces. Akko watched them scurry in and out of the keep through a pristine glass window, framed with an alloy she was unable to identify.

There hadn't been a bed, and Her Highness had to improvise, ripping up a few of the floorboards near the door of her prepared chamber and fashioning a fine chair for her defender to sit upon. She dropped dead to the world soon after, falling asleep in Akko's lap, nuzzling her face against the soft white tunic that separated the skin of her cheek from the defender's shoulder.

With the help of a few servants, Defender Kagari had managed to slip her scale mail off of her body without disturbing the princess as well, allowing both of them to get comfortable next to the window for a rest and a nice view.

Down on the snow dusted grass that surrounded the keep, Atsuko saw a small group of soldiers surrounding what remained of the legion's tiny splinter; multiple blocks of cracked and shattered ice, as well as two humanoid bodies, their limbs of ice severed to the bone.

The hunters' faces, once covered in tiny crystals of frost, had been melted with a torch and covered respectfully, an action that made Defender Kagari smile. Looking down at the princess' peaceful expression, she thought of her neighbours that had met similar fates, silently praying that someone granted them that same dignity.

Sucy made a cranky noise in her sleep, scratching the tip of her nose against her shield's collarbone as she grasped a fistful of white fabric. The shield watched silently, raising a hand to apply a gentle weight to the back of Her Highness' head as she attempted to parse the cause.

Her eyelids were devoid of any sort of light, ruling out the Gift of Cirenia's harrowing visions as the cause, and she would have made more of a fuss if she were in any real pain; leaving the temperature of the room the only possible solution.

"You're pretty sensitive to that, aren't you..."

Leaning over as much as she could, the defender's fingers stretched down to lock around her red cape and pulled it in her direction, detaching the connected armour pieces when they were dragged along with it.

The scarlet fabric served as a wonderful blanket, shielding the two from the chilly air and trapping the fireplace's heat within, alongside what their own bodies were able to provide.

Seeing Her Highness' discomfort vanish with the added warmth, Atsuko leaned back in the chair, letting out a slow relaxed sigh; just realizing for herself how cozy it all was.

A yawn blindsided the princess' shield from out of nowhere, violently reminding her of just how little she had slept in the past few days and seeking recompense via the wave of exhaustion that came after.

_'I... can't sleep... I- I need to watch over her!'_ Her instincts fired on all cylinders, even within the depths of a heavily fortified keep, they screamed for her to remain alert. But it was far too late; she was far too comfortable- relaxed, and Her Highness' light breathing against her throat was only reinforcing those feelings.

_'You are safe defender- she is safe. Sleep and be well.'_

Her body reacted immediately, as if ordered at that moment to shut down: the embers in her chest dying down to a gentle glow as the deep calming voice dampened her anxieties and filled her brain with fog.

Allowing her head to rest against Her Highness' as the royal slept peacefully against her shoulder, Akko took one last look out the window; at the great mountain peaks in the distance shimmering with ice.

Seconds later, she was gone.

**-oOo-**

_The air was still, not a single breeze giving life to its stagnant flow._

_It was quiet, not a chirp or a growl to hide the sound of her footsteps in the dirt._

_It was dark, thick fog seemingly soaking up any light that made it through the canopy; making her struggle through its underbrush that much harder._

_The endless darkness eventually gave way to a small clearing, rays of the moon shimmering down onto the grass as wisps of light gently floated around a rather large and out of place looking tree._

_From the thickness of the tree's trunk, it had to be at least a few hundred years old, black bark encasing the entire plant in a prison of rot. What were probably once apples hung from its branches, each purplish husk identical to the next; all looking severely eaten away by decay and yet refusing to fall._

_Her legs moved of their own accord towards the dark dying tree, feeling the overwhelming pressure that pulsed off of its sickened skin._

_Near the base of the tree, wedged in between twisted roots and masses of gnarled and messy wood, was a spotless silver sword. Multiple green circles were arranged down the length of the blade, three- maybe four visible while the rest hid behind folds of the tree's blackened husk._

_"The lost light..." She heard the words fall from her lips, whispering in awe despite no such order from her mind to do so. "Finally..."_

_Were they her lips?_

_A hand reached out towards the handle of the blade, fingers shaking with anticipation._

_Were they her fingers?_

_Barely a ghosting touch on against the sword, just enough to percieve the shockingly hot temperature of the metal, and her world went white._

_No. Not h_er world.

Defender Kagari's eyes snapped open, wildly jumping around in their sockets to take in her surroundings.

Stone ceiling.

Wooden support beams.

Princess in her lap.

Red eye, black eye.

Her Highness looked up at the defender with curiosity, still resting against her shield's shoulder in absolute comfort; nothing to indicate she would move any time soon.

Right: chair, window, princess, sleep.

"Sleeping on the job, honestly..." She murmured with a quiet teasing chuckle. "What would my father say?" Akko didn't particularly like thinking about that situation, given that the king most likely already knew.

"Pl- please don't make jokes like that Your Highness." She stumbled, all the while trying her hardest to not think about the king's vast knowledge about her experiences. "I'd rather die fighting instead of by the headsman."

Pain suddenly shot through the side of Akko's head; Her Highness' index finger flicking her hard in the ear. Looking down, the defender's eyes once again met with the princess' hetero-chromatic gaze, her eyebrows furrowed in an annoyed pout.

"And I'd rather you not joke about dying on me."

A picture of the princess' face, messy from tears after Cirenia's horrific vision, flashed behind Defender Kagari's eyes, sending a deep pang of regret through her heart.

"A-h..." She choked, sounds caught behind the lump in her throat. "Forgive me, Your Highness! I didn't mean to..."

The princess simply sighed in response, resting her head back on her knight's shoulder.

"You looked like you were having a dream." She noted, starting up a new line of conversation rather than let her imagination run wild with her shield's many possible deaths.

"Was it interesting?"

The dream was still vivid in Akko's mind, the sickly tree and a sword so familiar to her; more than familiar she had seen that same sword nearly every day for over a decade.

Looking down past Her Highness' curled up legs to her hip, the defender eyed the pommel of Claiomh Solais warily, her jaw clenching. Living the life she did, by the side of the girl she did, Akko didn't believe in anything being 'just a dream'; in a kingdom who's royals regularly saw the future, it would be utterly foolish.

"Very interesting, Your Highness."

The princess' gaze dropped from her shield's, choosing instead to fidget with the buttons of Akko's tunic absentmindedly. "Would you like to share?"

Defender Kagari didn't reply right away, staring at one of the identical stone bricks that made up the walls surrounding them. In the early days of her training under Knight Chariot, she often asked about the good knightess' choice weapon, about how she came to own such a brilliant blade; the answer was always the same. When even the most mundane questions had constantly changing replies, Chariot gave the same answer every time.

"What do you know about Knight Chariot's master?"

Her Highness returned her eyes to meet the defender's, a mix of amusement and puzzlement settling on her face. "Pardon Defender? Art thou dreaming of someone other than myself? Such treason!"

Despite smiling at the princess' teasing jab, and seeing a few flashes of previous dreams about the monarch to be, Akko's face remained rather serious. "No Your Highness, of course not, but the question does relate to my dream rather closely."

"Then I shall answer with what little I know, if it is truly of such importance to thee." The princess offered, shifting in Akko's lap. "She was called Croix I believe, a rather devout follower of the Immortal Monolith."

"Was she a knight as well?" The defender inquired, the gears in her head clunking and scraping together as they turned. She trusted Knight Chariot with both her life and the lives of her family; Akko wanted to believe her every word, but it always felt like everything the knightess said was an evasion of the truth.

She had to know if this was as well.

Her Highness narrowed her eyes for a few moments, looking off into space as she tried to remember.

"No." She finally concluded with one shake of her head, causing Akko's heart to drop in her chest. "She was a scholar; I don't think she ever raised a weapon larger than a knife."

_'Then what need would she have for a sword like this?'_ Defender Kagari sighed, clenching her teeth together once more.

"What does Miss Croix have to do with your dream Akko?" Her Highness queried, her own thoughts turning smoothly with great interest.

Their conversation died for at least half of a minute; the defender combining all of the puzzle pieces she had acquired thus far into a sensible picture before describing it.

"It was... a dark forest, late at night; it was foggy." Even after the image came together and the words formed, it was difficult to say them aloud. "I- or whoever's body I was in -came to a clearing with a single tree. It was black and dead and rotting."

The defender glanced down at Her Highness, expecting to see an expression of amusement or unconvinced acquiescence, but instead finding one of utter fascination.

Stumbling slightly from the surprise, she nevertheless continued. "T-There were rotted apples that wouldn't fall, and..." She bundled up her cloak around the princess to keep her warm whilst allowing the defender access to her own hip.

Akko slowly pulled Claiomh Solais from its sheath, raising it up in the air for the two of them to inspect. "I saw this sword- this _exact one_ -stuck in the base of the tree."

"Knight Chariot's sword? Your sword?" Her Highness verified, creasing her eyebrows. "Why on earth would it be wedged in a stump?"

That was certainly the question, but not one impossible to create a satisfactory answer for.

"I have an idea, but it might be a stretch." Akko admitted, though a gut feeling made the defender far more certain than she sounded. "This sword is magical yes? It must be, surely."

Her Highness took Claiomh Solais into her hands, one hand around the handle of the sword; the other gently supporting the face of the blade. "From what I have been told by thyself and others of this weapon's abilities, there is little doubt of its power, though said power's origin yet escapes my knowledge."

"I am incredibly curious."

"Continue with your train of thought." Pulling the line of conversation back on the topic of the defender's dream for a second time, Her Highness allowed Claiomh Solais to simply rest in her lap. "You always have a such a... different perspective on things."

Flashing a teasing yet supportive grin, the princess' gaze trailed up towards her defender's bright maroon irises and remained there.

Akko's gaze moved in the opposite direction, down at Her Highness' lap; staring pointlessly deep into the blade's green designs. "Myself and Knight Chariot have both held this blade for long periods of time, fought evil creatures with it. Perhaps we are... connected somehow through it?"

"Are you suggesting that this dream was in fact a memory?" The princess replied, reading her shield like scroll of fine papyrus- reading her words and seeing the thoughts behind each of them.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The princess' hetero-chromatic gaze almost sparkled with curiosity at that point; for someone not of the royal family to have a vision of any sort, and to hear so intimately from that person the details within.

"A memory of what?" She asked- the only correct next question.

Meeting her charge's eyes with embers of determination and assurance smoldering in her own, Defender Kagari allowed herself to speak unfiltered, letting her every thought flow out past her lips.

"Ever since I began training under Knight Chariot, I have asked her the origin of Claiomh Solais, and every time she would tell me the same thing: It was passed on to her by her master. But that simply cannot be true, can it?"

After a moment of silence, one nod was shared between the two, silent agreement of a answer they had both arrived at.

"It was a memory of Knight Chariot discovering Claiomh Solais. It was never just a sword."

"Then the question is..." Their faces moved closer and closer together by the second, their eyes boring deep into one another's as they led the train to its final stop together.

"Who's sword is it really?"

It took far too long for the defender to realize just how close her mouth was to Her Highness', but as soon as she did, her entire face erupted in a flush and she collapsed into a stuttering mess. "Ah! Y-Your Highness I didn't-"

But the princess didn't seem all that bothered, shifting her body so that she was sitting atop the shield's hips and continuing to lean in, pressing her lips against Akko's nose sweetly.

"Don't be like that dearest defender; I have just awoken after falling asleep on top of you, a little proximity is meaningless in comparison."

The defender couldn't respond; her mind overloaded by the sensation of soft lips against her face, even after Her Highness had pulled away. Princess Sucy Manbavaran, heir to Luna and Chosen of the Nine, just kissed a _peasant_ on the face- deliberately.

Her Highness began to cackle joyfully, sliding her hands up the defender's neck to gently cup her cheeks. "L-Look at you! Your complexion matches the colour of your eyes!" Her sharp triangular teeth interlocked in a wide and lively grin, a sight that made Akko's chest surge with warmth and the lovely feeling that accompanied a successfully carried out order.

Their room's door creaked open at that moment, instinctively causing the defender's head to snap towards the noise, her hand jumping towards the handle of Claiomh Solais.

But there was no enemy to be found, just Lotte Yanson, who poked her head through the door, her expression turning apologetic when she saw the happy pair.

"I hope I am not interrupting something?" She attempted bashfully, taking a few tiny steps into the room and closing the door quietly behind her.

"Thou art indeed." Her Highness seemed rather miffed about her alone time with her shield being cut short, but remained calm in front of her two most loyal. "What is it, Miss Yanson?"

An immense weight crushed downward on the defender's head: sheer awkwardness from both her current position beneath the princess being discovered as well as her apparent relegation to the metaphorical sidelines in the new conversation.

Lotte seemed to notice the discomfort- either from intuition or the defender's terrible job at hiding it -and flashed the shield an apologetic look. "All of the materials for the gate have been gathered; the workers are asking whether you would prefer it be man-made or by the Gift of Creation."

The princess' focus shifted to multiple positions one after the other; beginning with a sideways glance as she took the time to think of an answer before leaping to the defender's nervous expression for a second and then returning to Lotte.

"I have had an excellent rest here, and am feeling revitalized." She explained with a nod, letting the defender's cape pool around her hips as she shifted to hop down of of her dear shield's lap. "If I can assist my people in their duties and guarantee success, I shall do so."

The scarlet red fabric eventually ended up in Akko's face, tossed in her direction to jolt the defender from her flustered silence.

"Thou must follow, my shield." She teased dryly, holding Claiomh Solais by the blade; offering it out to her defender. "I am most shocked thou dost not already know this."

Akko scrambled to her feet, grasping the handle tightly; stalling for half a second when her own image was reflected in the silver blade's polished face.

Was she really making that expression?

"To the ends of the earth, Your Highness."


	24. Miles

** -oOo- **

The ground floor of the keep had come along nicely in the hour or two the princess and her shield slept: premade indents in the stone floor had been filled with planks of fresh spruce wood, stained and sealed with resin; soft woven banners and carpets rolled out to provide both aesthetic appeal and soft warmth to the cold brick rooms.

"Woah, you guys work fast..." Akko whistled, helping the princess down the stairs. "It's already looking like the castle in here." She resisted instinctively saying home, as no matter how at home she felt with Her Highness, Castle Manbavaran would never be her place or her world.

"Indeed." The princess hummed in agreement smiling as she scanned the room approvingly from wall to wall, noting the subtle improvements her servants had made in their building style. "When a truly powerful monarch can conjure an entire city from dirt and stone, one must learn to specialize."

Lotte silently smiled, leading the pair down into the foyer, past knights and workers alike carrying armfuls of wood and other supplies. The keep was alive with the sound of swinging hammers, dragging saws, and sweeping brooms, each individual noise joining with the ever present roar of voices to create an orchestra as bustling as Castle Town.

That same level of business seemed to extend through the rest of the keep and all the way out into the courtyard where fresh wood was constantly being brought in from the surrounding forest and large crates were being loaded off of caravans.

A blast of cold air assaulted the defender as soon as stepped over the threshold, and along with it the realization of just how warm the keep had gotten while the princess and herself were resting. Burying her nose into her muffler, Akko turned to adjust Her Highness' cloak, making sure that the royal heir was sufficiently shielded from the wind.

"Does the sight of ice not make you long for the warmth of our room, Defender?" The princess hummed, lip curled in a slight grin as her lidded gaze examined every feature of Akko's face for weaknesses to exploit.

"I am tempted to forgo a throne entirely in favour of the two of us in that little chair." She prodded with a touch of genuine longing visible in her expression, goading her loyal knight for a reply.

The defender averted her eyes and hid deeper down into her muffler, now utterly immune to the icy air that tried to scratch at her burning face. "As much as I would like to obey, Your Highness... I cannot react to danger as fast from beneath you..."

Her murmurs were almost lost to the princess' ears, muffled as they were by the woolen cape. Almost.

"A delight saved for the safest locations then." Her Highness giggled, reaching out and patting Akko on the cheek. "I'll hold you to that."

Attempting to brush off her embarrassment and the fluttering of her heart, Defender Kagari offered the princess her elbow, patting one of her flushing cheeks with her free hand.

The trio shuffled across the field towards the infant gatehouse, inwardly groaning when the sky opened up yet again, dusting the already white landscape with further frost.

Warmly bundled carpenters arranged themselves in two neat lines parallel Her Highness' destination, hinging at their hips and bowing low for their monarch-to-be. It was all very practiced and methodical, giving the impression that these men and women had been well trained for even these odd circumstances.

"The materials are ready and waiting, Your Highness." A younger bald carpenter bowed, removing his fur hat. "If you would grace our unworthy eyes with your power once more."

There was little fanfare this time, just a blast of charged air as the princess' hair ignited in flames of sunset orange, embers dancing across her lashes as they fluttered closed.

One pale fist shot forward; a single twist of the wrist tossing wood and metal up into the air violently, causing many of the stonefaced carpenters to flinch.

Her Highness didn't even use her other arm, keeping it wrapped around her defender's arm where it had been for weeks now, instead flicking her wrist and curling her fingers to arrange each plank and rivet to its rightful spot. A flash of light locked the entire thing into a complete slab which then floated gently towards its housing and shoved itself less gently into place.

The heavy stone walls of the fort curled around its new piece like the branches of a tree, digging into the wood to create brand new systems of hinges and locks, an impossibly fast upward slice splitting the wooden slab cleanly into two separate doors.

"I assume thou'rt able to make the finishing adjustments by thy lonesome?" Her Highness questioned breathlessly, the fire dying from her eyes and embers rolling off her fingers into into the snows. "Other matters likely require my attention."

Head carpenter bowing low to speak for the rest of his workforce, the once statuesque workers sprang into action, pushing the gate open to test its movement, adjusting the locks, as well as other small refinements. "Come storm or legion, this fortification will be ready, Your Highness."

"Most excellent. Carry on." Leaving her workers to it, Her Highness looked towards the defender at her side, soft smile dropping at the troubled expression she found.

"Defender Kagari?" She tried, shoving her weight into the brunette when the words proved ineffective. "Akko!"

Atsuko jolted, blinking hard before allowing herself to meet her charge's eyes. "Ah, sorry Your- Your Highness... I wasn't..." Clearing her throat and beginning the walk back towards the keep, the shield tried once more, this time with a more refined vocabulary. "I was merely absorbed in thought."

That early morning conversation before the caravan set off, still weighed on Akko's mind, causing an uncomfortable tightness in her chest; a nameless dread that grew stronger every beat of her heart.

Something bad had happened, of that she had no doubt.

But...

"What thread of thought could cause such a pained expression, dearest Defender?" The princess stopped her at the midway point, thin pale fingers gently caressing the brunette's jaw in hope of alleviating the tension there. Alas, Akko's frown grew fiercer, her eyes and head jolting downward towards her hip, to the sword that flared into red hot rage even within its sheath.

Claiomh Solais twisted and warped like flesh, straining the leather that contained its fury; ice and snow began to give way beneath their feet, melting faster with the each pulsing seizure of the blade.

Akko's heart clenched hard, the claws of dread transforming into a fear and sadness that were not her own. Hesitantly, she touched the pommel with her right hand, shivering at the painless burning sensation even as she pulled outward.

Cold winter air made contact with the metal as it was unsheathed, and almost instantly a horrific shriek ripped forth, echoing through the empty forest; shaking snow free from hundreds of branches.

There was a shift in the air around them then, like the feeling of something turning its head in the distance, making the hairs on the back of Akko's neck stand on end and her ringing ears go numb.

Gazing off in a direction that onlookers would deem random, the defender felt her breath catch, stomach turn and flip; her throat constrict. She was drowning on dry land, dilated pupils locked onto grey clouds and faraway mountains while her body trembled like leaf in the wind.

Claiomh Solais had never felt so cold in her grasp.

_'So... Cold...'_

A sudden burst of pain shot through Akko's jaw, forcefully tossing the defender back into the present moment and likewise tossing her onto her back. She sat in the snow in a half daze, rubbing her aching jaw before Her Highness' terrified expression came back into focus.

"Akko!" She cried, kneeling down and taking her loyal defender's face into her hands, searching the brunette's eyes for any sign of the previous trance. "What happened? You weren't- thou- you-" Her Highness' mouth flapped open and closed, struggling to form a proper sentence.

In that moment, something came over the defender, and she wrapped her arms around her charge tightly, dropping her head of brown locks onto Her Highness' shoulder.

"I'm okay..." She murmured, relishing in the heat that came off of the princess' cheeks. It wasn't entirely true; she was fine physically, sure, but a foreboding fear of the future had taken root in the defender: she feared for her family, her friends; for Chariot.

"You weren't responding." The princess finally murmured, finishing her sentence. "Your face was white as snow..."

"And then the sword..."

Claiomh Solais laid alone and burning amongst brown dying grass, a perfect circle of melted snow giving the earth its first taste of sunlight in months. When she had completely unsheathed it the defender did not know, nor did she know how it ended up out of her hands, but as it was, Akko was too shaken to care

Defender Kagari's shoulders shuddered as the memories thrashed around inside her head: an impossible chill- ice cold fire burning her flesh away, lungs that would not expand because of rigored flesh, blood freezing in chunks within her arteries and tearing her body apart from the inside.

"I know that expression..." Her Highness murmured, grip tightening against her shield's shoulders. "I've seen it in the morning mirror for half my life." Waking up after another restless night of visions and vague prophesy, Sucy would look stare into the mirror, taking in the deep exhaustion that had set into her eyes, even as the skin around remained pristine and refreshed.

"What did you see?"

An exhaustion of the soul: the weight of the future sitting heavily, dragging down your very being with hows, whys, and what-ifs until you either supplant the future, or forget it.

Akko took a deep breath, swallowing her nerves and moving to stand. "Something... really bad just happened- I'm not sure what." She half answered before chickening out of the rest. "We need to finish up here and get moving."

Her Highness frowned, dropping her now empty hands into her lap and staring at the indent in the snow where her shield once sat. She could order Akko to tell all; force her defender to reveal exactly what had just occurred, but the thought made her heart sink.

She sighed, fiddling with the ring on her right hand. Akko rarely avoided her questions so thoroughly, and if she did it was with a bright and adorably flushed face. But this hardened stony expression was neither of those wonderful things.

And something told her it would be a long time before she saw Akko's smile again.

"Your Highness?!" The voices of multiple soldiers rang out as they rushed over from their posts, a combination of the gods-awful shriek and royal heir crouched down in the snow catching the attention of all.

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" One of them worriedly asked, eyeing the defender as she carefully picked up the still smoldering sword. "What was that noise?"

The princess followed the soldiers' gaze and grunted. "Apparently nothing that would slow our mission. Carry on, we shall be perfectly fine on our lonesome."

** -oOo- **

It had begun to snow again in the interim, and on the walk back, even as the whole world became muffled and their little bubble of the universe was separated further from all else, the pair remained silent until their destination was steps away.

The bodies of the two defiled hunters lay side by side beneath a makeshift roof of spare planks, warmed by a nearby fires and the torches griped tightly in a few soldier's gauntlets.

"A report if thou'rt pleased." Her Highness ordered, slightly curtsying when all of her subordinates saluted in sync. "'Tis a rare opportunity to have our enemy's units left... intact."

Akko felt multiple pairs of eyes on her but kept her eyes down, locked on the two dead men at her feet. She felt everthemore grateful for the cloth that covered their faces when she looked over at the frostbitten stumps where their arms and legs used to be; blackened skin contrasted by bleach white bone.

She turned away, towards the one and only thing that would offer her peace.

Her Highness listened intently to the soldiers as they recounted the fight with the strange new units and their observations of the bodies forthwith. Akko could see her pale pink lips moving in reply but no words reached her ears, not until the princess moved to separate herself from the defender.

"Defender if thou wouldst." She requested, gently tugging her hand that had somehow found its way into the shields palm. "I wish to examine them closer."

Akko yanked her hand back as if burnt, an act which she immediately regretted, searching the princess' eyes for lasting hurt. There was none, only a deep worry.

"Thou canst hold mine hand another time." Her Highness tried to joke, offering a smile which the defender tried and failed to return. She instead tugged her cloak up and off to lay it on the grass for her lady to kneel upon.

"My thanks." She said simply in response, and though simple her words were weighty with emotion: gratitude, worry, love, but most of all relief.

Worries sated, Her Highness looked down at the bodies of two of her loyal subjects, closing her eyes for a moment to pray for the safety of their souls. When her eyes opened they flared green and a single pulse blew outward, gifting those around her with similar sight.

Akko, eyes burning green, looked around at the literal rainbow of colour that now surrounded them. Gentle blue fires burned in the heart of each and every person she looked at, save for Her Highness who shone with a brilliant white, cracks of blackness streaking out of the amulet upon her bosom and from her hidden blackened eye.

"Thou seest the world as I now." The princess explained. "Let the light not distract thee and look upon these poor souls before us."

The bodies at their feet were awash in confusing swamps of colour, dirty browns and greys like a painter's brush bath after a hard days work. Their corpses stank, not of decay but of malice and sorrow, a magic twisted and befouled into something unrecognizable.

Looking again at the scenery around them, Akko realized the very air around them shared this grey mist, thinner within the walls of the fortress it grew darker and darker the further from the keep you looked until the horizon became not but a void.

"Your-" Akko choked, crushed by the weight of darkness on her lungs. "Your Highness, is this how you see the world?"

"Not regularly. It is far more difficult to pull oneself away from than enter. I find it unpleasant."

Hovering an open palm over the body like one does to test the heat of a fire, Her Highness took deep breaths, her brows scrunched up in great effort.

"Observe the muted colour hidden within this foul energy, it resembles the magics of the Nine does it not? Yet there is something very much wrong with it, like a poor fabrication."

One of the knights shifted uncomfortably. "A f-fabrication Your Highness? What manner of creature could even begin to emulate They?"

The princess closed her eyes and sighed a heavy tired sigh. "A very good question Sir Knight, but a very troubling one. It is clear we do not know nearly enough about this enemy."

"I only hope these men did not die suffering..."

_burningfreezingtearingdying_

Drenched in malice and shadow, surrounded by memories that were not hers, a familiar and unwelcome feeling crept out of the depths of her soul wrapping tight around her heart and pulling. Without thinking she suddenly found herself standing out in the snow again, feeling each tiny flake of evil touch her flesh as her sword was free of its scabbard once more.

It burned with brilliant scarlet fire, the exact same scarlet red that slept within her shield yet leagues stronger and much more violent.

Pointing the blade's tip at the dark horizon, something instinctual caused her to snarl, earlier's fear and trepidation turning to anger, flight into fight- a sudden spark of instinctual hate that could light a wildfire.

In her mind's eye she could see them, ten white dots arranged in a very specific pattern: an arrow with a smaller head halfway down: the festering wound this icy darkness bled from.

They stared at eachother across miles, Defender and Beast, glaring into each other's eyes as if the distance between them did not exist.

If any of the other soldiers had turned at that moment, they would have seen the great fire slowly burn down Akko's arm and consume her whole.


	25. A Change in the Wind

**-oOo-**

  
_'Hot... it's so... it burns...'_ As Akko once again grabbed hold of her consciousness from whatever void it had been tossed into, the first thing she knew was heat; sweltering and all consuming, like she was the wood in a homely hearth. The second thing she knew was noise- voices, two of them shouting in muffled fury, a steady commanding tone in her right ear, a ferocious and violent one in her left.

Were they arguing? The defender tried focusing harder on what they were saying, receiving only a throbbing headache for her troubles.

_'What was I doing last...?’_ She thought, remembering a loud screeching noise, memories that didn’t fit in her own head, and then-

Overwhelming darkness, knowledge of an evil that had always been hiding in plain sight, and a burning hatred both her own and very much not.

“_KillKillKillKillKillSmiteTheDemonsBurnTheEvil”_

Ten white dots.

“_ProtectThePrincessByHerSideAlways”_

Akko grabbed her skull tightly; the voices that were once separate and distinct entities had begun to meld in their clash, complete sentences and articulation giving way to a steady stream of thoughts and phrases.

“_BurnTheBeastBurnTheBeast”_

The strength of the magics clashing within her weighed like mountains. She thought of Her Highness, of the godly Gifts she had been given: was it like this for her too?

“_HerHighnessYesThePrincessLoveProtectForever”_

Utterly overwhelmed, Akko pictured Her Highness’s smug smile: sharp teeth and creased eyes, how the defender wanted to see it again, keep it safely on her face for all time.

“_PrincessYesProtectKillEnemiesSmiteBeastSavePrincess”_

Which voice was that one? Were they merging? They all sounded the same now.

Finally opening her eyes, Akko swore she could see Her Highness in the snow, though there was no smile to accompany her.

“Your... Highness...? Please... smile for me...”

Sucy watched with horror, through the looking glass of green, as her dearest suffered within the monstrous pyre. Flames of scarlet red and azure blue struggling against one another in a twisted tug of war, with Akko as the rope.

On one end, her father's oath: an all encompassing duty to king and country.

On the other, the lost light: a godly strength not seen for an era. Capella's light.

She could barely comprehend the ramifications, looking back on months of bizarre behaviour with new eyes. The pressure was always there, a feeling of strong magics she attributed to her father or the cursed snow or even anxiety, but now that she had a face for the nameless feeling, she felt so many things at once.

Her noble blood felt envy that a mere peasant girl could possess such strength, her loving heart felt sorrow at the thought of one she held so close suffering without her knowledge, but most of all, deep within her young soul, she was afraid.

Afraid of the unknown, afraid for the life of her defender, afraid for her kingdom, dying beneath the frost.

Afraid of the future.

All of a sudden, as if something within Akko had gave way, the two magics ceased their combat. Once opposed in their dance- enemies in a magical debate, they now shifted together, melding into something else entirely.

The pyre began to rapidly shrink, vicious red rushing into the core of calm blues, disturbing the snow on the ground of the physical word such was its intensity.

What remained was a wispy ember of red and blue, bigger than the gentle candles in the hearts of her fellow knights; the duo of colours continuing to mix in a lazy waltz.

The defender stood straight once more, her head tilted up to the cloudy skies as her eyes, once fogged and hazy, gained the sharpness of a warrior.

She slowly looked down at her hand, clenching and relaxing her fist. A deep breath followed, muscles relaxing.

_'This will do.’_

Sucy blinked away the Gift of Knowledge to better focus on her shield, who marched back her way with purpose, like a woman with a plan.

In spite of her fears, she couldn’t stop herself when Akko finally drew close, her hands flew to the defender’s face, her chest, her arms, looking for something- _anything_ wrong.

Atsuko, unfazed, kneeled before her, head bowed. “Apologies, Your Highness, I was merely scouting the terrain with the sight you granted me.” Their eyes met.

There was nothing, her posture, her cadence, it was perfect.

“You are truly Chosen of the Nine. Praise be unto They.”

It was the kind of obvious statement she was used to: nobles and peasantry alike reaffirming that yes, she was the heir to the throne, but in this moment, in this place, the words made the princess blink hard.

“Yes. Yes, praise be.” Sucy parroted after a second of pause. “-But what were you even looking at dearest? You seemed quite focused.”

The edge in her features receded, returning to the sullen frown the defender had carried throughout the journey thus far, and as much shame as it brought her, Sucy felt the slightest bit relieved.

“You see it often don’t you?” Atsuko asked in an almost meek murmur. “That choking evil in the air, sucking the life from the earth- such an ugly thing your lovely eyes must bear.” Her tone was mournful and genuine, the adoring words welling up naturally rather than from an intent to flirt.

“The sight steals my courage, weighing down upon me like the snows It follows. Knowing the source, I am struck with fear... overwhelming fear that tells me to run and hide and cry.” Gently grasping one of Her Highness’ hands, Akko brought it to her face with both of her own.

“But nothing that this world could do to me scares me more than what it could do to you.”

Chocolate brown hair fell down over the defender’s eyes, shrouding her face in shadow as she pressed the princess’ knuckles to her lips. “I can imagine the stress, the fear for your people, too much for one woman, no matter how incredible.” A grin tried to form on Akko’s face, but it couldn’t quite make it, looking more like she was about to cry instead. “Rely on me, Your Highness. Please.”

“I am your sword and shield. I protect you from threats of all kinds: to the body but also your soul and your smile.”

Her Highness’s heart skipped a beat, bringing warmth to her face in spite of the icy wind.

“As long as you’re safe and smiling, I can do anything.” It was an oath of loyalty yes, but it was also a fearful plea, a grasping hand reaching for the light. A little voice hissed that she wasn’t worthy of such loyalty and sacrifice, that such a malformed and weak thing like her didn’t deserve it, but rather than bring despair, the thought only increased the princess’ gratitude.

Had there not been so many spectators, and had Akko not just been sharing her deepest hopes and fears, Sucy might have just tackled her defender to the ground and kissed her right then and there.

“Continue to say such things and I shall do more than just smile.” She teased, pulling Akko up to full height for a close embrace.

And yet, even as her heart fluttered and face split in wide grin, the image burned clear in the back of Sucy’s mind: the lost light of Capella, crushing her shield beneath the might of gods.

**-oOo-**

Cold and uncaring as the winter, the day continued, with the princess and her protector assisting however they could. From Akko, brute labour: lifting pallets and raising beams, utilizing her not unnoticeable strength much to the princess’ spectating delight. From Her Highness, gifts of the gods: golems of stone and magic to defend the gate and wards of life to dispel the dark miasma and halt its reclamation of the fort.

Lotte arrived with a hot meal just as sun reached its apex in the sky, pouring first a cup of the princess’ favourite tea, and then lifting the silver cover that protected steamy soup from the wind. Akko visibly salivated, halted only by her heavy armour in crawling over the princess to get at the food.

“That’s right, you have worked hard today.” Her Highness hummed, wiping the drool from Akko’s chin with the edge of her red cape. She giggled softly, flashing a toothy grin in her maid’s direction. “Look at her- like a starving dog or infant.”

“You both have worked hard, Your Highness.” Lotte corrected, handing the bowl to Akko and the cup to the princess. “There’s enough there for both of you, make sure to split it properly!” She punctuated her words with a meaningful look at the defender. “You both need to keep your strength up. We’ll need it again before long.”

Making sure to completely finish swallowing before speaking, Akko paused in her ravenous feast. “And what about you? You’ve been running around nonstop since we arrived- come sit with us!”

Her Highness seemed to agree after a second’s deliberation, patting the spot next to her, motioning for the handmaiden to relax . “There’s much that needs doing.” Lotte explained, looking down at the snow and kicking a pile up in the air with her boot. “The plan is to move out within the hour, and then on to the next one.”

The Kingdom of Luna never had a need for such intensive internal defences before: generally high civil obedience, the god given power of the Chosen, and the knighthoods of the various dukedoms doing more than enough to manage crime and beasts on their own. Focus had always been placed more on the borders of the kingdom; on the heathen hoards and demons from beyond that wished to claim the holy land for their own.

And yet, even in a land so blessed and so at peace, darkness was able to take root- seep into the land as if from nowhere and war had come home with it.

Would the land she loved ever be the same?

Lotte sighed, smoothing down a wrinkle on her skirt that wasn’t there. “To be honest, I want to get these finished as soon as possible; who knows when the next village could be attacked, when the next family could be torn apart.”

Humming with approval, the princess took another sip from her cup, breathing in the calming earthy vapours. “You are woman of two sides Miss Yanson. One of steel and rope, capable in all things- dutiful in the hardest work, and one of milk and honey, companionate and loving. A superior mother and wife there would not be.”

She flushed pink at the praise, but turned to bow her head at the royal heir through her embarrassment. “Your words feel like a blessing from the Nine Themselves, Your Highness. I shall carry them in my heart always.”

The three sat together for a while after, silently enjoying eachother’s company and the sounds of life that surrounded them. It wasn’t until the princess’ tea was nearly gone that the soundscape was interrupted.

“ALLIED FORCE INBOUND, GET THAT GATE OPEN!”

Workers and soldiers rushed around to unlock the new gate, pulling it open just as a triple line of horses galloped through, Swordmaster Amanda O’Neil at its head. The line fanned out as they entered, moving to one of the multiple stables that lined the walls, but the Amanda continued to ride forward towards where Her Highness and her two most loyal sat.

Sucy rose to greet her, pulling her shield alongside and falling into their usual walking roles.

Hopping off of her horse with the grace of a dancer or acrobat, the swordmaster bowed to Her Highness, hand over her heart. “My liege, I arrive with my best to assist in this great endeavour. And to bring news.” Her tone was serious, devoid of the cocksure pride and bombast she trained her men with.

“Rise O’Neil, mighty swordmaster, and speak of this news.” The princess responded in kind, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin. “Has this to do with the enemy?”

Amanda nodded, pulling a parchment scroll from her hip satchel. “Yes, Your Highness, scouts belonging to house Hanbridge, tasked with maintaining visual on the presumed enemy commander, just reported a change in heading. It’s coming this way.”

The princess read the scroll- a map of the area surrounding Fort Hanbridge -noting the marked waypoints and the path they estimated. “Unfortunately I must come to the same conclusion.” She sighed, resting her head against Akko’s arm. “But what could cause such drastic change? The beast marches unfalteringly eastwards for an entire fortnight, then suddenly reverses course in less than a day.”

The defender clenched her jaw with anxiety, her chest seemingly dropping in temperature by several degrees. ‘_freezingburningithurtspleasesocold’_

In that moment, something inside her shifted: her wide fearful eyes turning hard and stormy, her spine straightening, hand reaching to sit purposefully on the pommel of Claiomh Solais.

“It’s reasons are irrelevant.” The defender bit, interrupting the moment of contemplative silence. “If it comes here, comes after Her Royal Highness, Chosen Above All, I shall personally grind its bones to dust.”

A shiver ran down Sucy’s spine at the harsh and low tone of her shield’s voice, warily side-eying the woman beside her.

“I expect your knights have been prepared to stall the beast’s movements?”

Amanda stumbled over herself for a moment, surprised and a little confused at the seriousness and poison in Akko’s voice.

“Uh- yeah. We’ll buy you as much time as possible to create distance; when the next wave of reinforcements arrives my men and I will follow.”

The defender lifted her chin a little higher, closing her eyes. “Very well.” She nodded. “Then we should move out as quickly as possible, Your Highness?”

Reading the mind of her shield was fairly easy most days, not a drop of magic used; Akko was a simple girl, her every thought visible on her lovely face.

However, this was not most days, and this was not the face Her Highness loved so.

It took Sucy a few moments to comprehend what she was being asked, but she eventually understood, pulsing a wave of blue outward from her body. Her servants’ internal candles responded in turn, and suddenly abandoned their tasks to begin packing up the carts for departure.

“Whoa.” Akko gasped, the hard set jaw and cold eyes apparently blown off her face by the magical blast. “It’s been awhile since I felt one of those. Still weird.” Her free hand rubbed at her chest like she was gulping back heartburn.

“Do not get too used to it, dearest.” Her Highness hummed in a sultry tone. “There are more direct ways of making you obey when the time comes.”

“S- Your Highness!” Akko cried, scandalized.

Perhaps it wasn’t the time nor place to be making innuendos, but Sucy desperately needed the stress relief, and the dark red flush against her dearest’s fair skin was among the greatest in the kingdom.

“My liege if I may.” Amanda interrupted, holding back a cackle from behind her fist. “Perhaps the royal carriage is a better place for this. More privacy.”

Sucy chuckled but nodded in agreement. “Thou’rt correct Swordmaster. Then I wish thee luck and safety. May the blessings of the Nine be with thee in this most dangerous task.”

Amanda saluted with a grin. “My soul for the Nine and my life for their Chosen.”

** -oOo- **

They were gone within the hour as planned, leaving behind an almost fully furnished fortress and a single battalion of knights to hold the line.

The swordmaster sighed from atop the wall, stretching one side of her body and then the other, arms reaching out above her head. “God, the things I do for king and country. This is gonna suuuuck.”

“Sir?” A knight at her side questioned, fist clenched tightly around his war hammer.

“I mean the trash won’t be too much of a problem- new additions notwithstanding. I’m more worried about our guest of honour.” Her arms came down to rest behind her, hands on the back of her head. “Just think about it, the only things we know about it are it’s size and magic potential, both of which I hate enough on their own.”

“I see, Sir.” The knight nodded. “If it’s any consolation, we aren’t expecting the enemy commander for a few hours at the least...”

“It’ll have to do.” Amanda took a seat, dangling her legs off the side of the fortification, staring out at the sea of evergreens. The knight remained standing, fidgeting in place as if containing his words. She shifted her gaze to the side to glance at his face, bushy ‘stache and green eyes, gesturing at him to spit it out.

“You spoke with the Royal Defender did you not, Sir? What is she like?”

The questions were somewhat expected, though still shook her balance. Whispers had been circulating throughout the knight’s quarter and the castle as a whole: the Shield of the Princess,fearless, mighty, heroic. Flaming sword in hand, she purged Luna of evil, like an avenging avatar of the Nine sent down to save them all.

Amanda had brushed off the rumours with a laugh, imagining the doofus she trained with slipping on ice as she swung that sword around.

But after today, seeing her face, and hearing her voice- how far she had risen in such a short time, how much she changed.

“She’s like hot coals: warm, comforting and bright, but also scalding, dangerous. You should try and stay out of her way, unless you’re ready to become kindling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw I have a tahmblr @Kaponoss also I realized last week that the beast accidentally looks a whole lot like regigigas. Lmao oops.


End file.
